Sadness can be a difficult emotion to manage, but there are plenty of situations where feeling that way is a perfectly natural reaction—like when you’ve run into a setback or lost an important relationship. But when you’re feeling sad on a regular basis and you aren’t sure why, that can be a sign that your mental health needs attention.
So how can you tell if what you’re experiencing is normal (even if unpleasant) sadness or an issue that needs addressing? Read on for some key differences to look for, plus tips for handling sadness whenever it happens.
Even sadness you can’t explain can be a healthy reaction to your situation. For example, sadness can be your way of responding to a problem you haven’t consciously noticed yet. But once you start feeling down, you look for the issue (and ideally, find a solution too).
Surprisingly, research shows that sadness can even improve your relationships with other people. Being in a bad mood can even make you more persuasive and less judgmental.
Looking for a good example of how sadness can be beneficial? Talkiatry therapist Tracey Griffin has a movie recommendation for you.
"Inside Out does a wonderful job of showing how sadness can make people more empathetic," Tracey says. "I often use this example to help my patients see how sharing their sadness with other people can actually strengthen their connection."
But healthy sadness tends to subside after a few hours or days, once you’ve solved or accepted the issue that’s bothering you. Persistent sadness, on the other hand, can be a sign of a mental health concern.
Clinical depression can come in a few different forms. Major depressive disorder (MDD), often (but not always) causes near-constant sadness for more than two weeks at a time. That low mood might go away for a while, but it always comes back.
If you always seem to feel sad in the winter months but your mood brightens with the weather, you might have a different type of depression: seasonal affective disorder (SAD). On the other hand, persistent depressive disorder (PDD) causes year-round, but milder gloominess.
Apart from sadness, you’ll recognize all types of depression by these symptoms:
If you’re relating to this as you read, it might be a good idea to reach out to a psychiatrist who can help you manage your symptoms.
Unlike depression, bipolar disorder doesn’t just bring you down emotionally and physically. Instead, periods of persistent sadness alternate with spells of intense happiness. You might get a brief breather from your symptoms in between episodes, or you might feel depressed and euphoric at the same time.
During a depressive episode, you’ll see the same kinds of symptoms that normally come along with clinical depression. You’ll recognize a manic episode by these symptoms:
If any of this sounds like you, consider reaching out to a psychiatrist for help.
Sometimes, a consistently down mood can be a side effect of a significant shift in your body’s hormone levels. You might always feel sad shortly before you get your period, or you might feel depressed for some time after giving birth, which is called postpartum depression. You can also develop depressive symptoms later in life, when your testosterone or estrogen levels drop.
In these cases, you’ll experience all the usual symptoms of depression, so you may have a hard time connecting the change in your mood to what’s going on inside your body. Tracking your mood over time can help you recognize patterns and pinpoint a cause, like if you always tend to feel depressed around the same time each month. If you’ve been struggling with symptoms that may be related to changing hormones, tell your primary care doctor or your psychiatrist, who may refer you to an endocrinologist.
Feeling sad can weigh you down and make it tougher to enjoy your life, but it’s an important part of the human experience. Sadness can make you more empathetic toward others and yourself.
But no one deserves to feel sad all or most of the time. If you’re struggling with depressive symptoms, Talkiatry can help. Take our quick assessment to get matched with one of our expert psychiatrists.
Talkiatry is a mental health practice, and our clinicians review everything we write. However, articles are never a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you think you may need mental health help, talk to a psychiatrist. If you or someone you know may be in danger, call 911 or the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 right away.
Tracey Griffin is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who is dedicated to helping people align with their most authentic selves over the last 11 years. This includes addressing the struggles of mental health in an open, empathetic, and non-judgmental, therapeutic relationship. She is dedicated to establishing a collaborative working relationship with individuals to help achieve their goals while living a fulfilled and balanced life. Tracey received her Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Pace University following her Bachelor of Arts in Applied Psychology from the same institution. She has been trained in performing biopsychosocial assessments and is also a Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor.
Tracey’s treatment approach is person-centered in conjunction with evidence-based practices such as cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing while remaining culturally sensitive and inclusive. She is well versed in harm reduction as well as abstinence-based approaches to addiction treatment and roots her practice to focus on treating the whole self which can include exploration of spirituality and purpose. Tracey has experience working with individuals who experience co-occurring disorders, anxiety, depression, codependency, addiction, personality disorders, LGBTQ, men’s issues, and trauma.
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