![]() Even though participants in both groups felt sad, the two types of sadness were associated with distinct physical and psychological responses. These meanings may map on to different experiences.įor example, a study published in 2017 in Frontiers in Psychology compared sadness caused by imagining the death of a loved one and sadness caused by imagining failing to reach a goal. Researchers who study sadness, including Forgas, acknowledge that the word “sadness” has multiple meanings. People who are sad might say they feel lonely, distressed, depressed, anxious, or grief. Increased or decreased skin conductance (a measure of a small electric current in the skin that can indicate someone's level of arousal or emotional response, according to APA).According to a review published in 2020 in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, the following can be signs of sadness: You can recognize sadness in yourself and others through its telltale characteristics. However, if you experience symptoms including fatigue, changes in your appetite, withdrawing from friends, feeling low energy, and the inability to feel happy over a two-week period to the extent that they’re interfering with day-to-day functioning, consider talking to your doctor about getting screened for a mood disorder. Depression doesn’t look the same in everyone, which can make it difficult to recognize sometimes, Kross notes. It can be tough to tell whether you’re experiencing everyday sadness or depression. How Can You Tell if It’s Depression or Everyday Sadness? That differs from everyday sad moods, which occur all the time to all of us. ![]() “It is a very serious disease that has very serious consequences,” says Forgas. “It’s really about the degree and duration,” says Kross.ĭepression, in contrast to sadness, tends to be debilitating, making it difficult to perform everyday tasks, according to the APA (PDF). But when sadness is experienced intensely and for a long time, and is accompanied by other hallmark depression symptoms (lack of interest or pleasure in most activities, fatigue, and changes in appetite), it may indicate the presence of a depressive disorder. In nondepressed individuals, sadness comes and goes. But to experience sadness is not the same as having depression. The Difference Between Sadness and DepressionĪccording to the APA, persistent sadness is one of the two defining symptoms of a major depressive episode. Withdrawing to reflect is a very different response from the quick action of anger, says Dr. In the aftermath of the unexpected rejection, sadness might cause you to step back and try to better understand what implications that loss has for you. Think about a time you’ve experienced a major rejection, says Ethan Kross, PhD, a professor of psychology and management and organizations at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who studies emotion and self-control. The emotion causes a slew of changes in thinking and behavior (more on that later), some of which Forgas detailed in a paper published in Current Directions in Psychological Science. Sadness tells you that you’re in an unfamiliar situation so you need to look out and be careful, he says. But now researchers believe that sadness acts as a mild alert, says Dr. “Anger is useful in overcoming resistance,” says Joseph Forgas, a doctor of science in psychology and Scientia Professor of psychology at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.įor a long time, researchers didn’t know the purpose of sadness. So when you’re angry, you might have tunnel vision and feel motivated to deal with some kind of problem. The Difference Between Sadness and Angerīoth sadness and anger can feel unpleasant and distressing, and researchers sometimes lump the two together under the umbrella of “negative affect.” (This category also includes shame, guilt, anxiety, fear, and irritability, according to research.) But sadness and anger are distinct emotions with different purposes, as other research has outlined.Īnger often occurs in response to a perceived injustice, according to the APA. Sadness is “an emotional state of unhappiness, ranging in intensity from mild to extreme and usually aroused by the loss of something that is highly valued,” according to the American Psychological Association (APA).
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