Grief or Depression? What is the difference and why does it matter?
Grief is a normal reaction to the loss of a loved one. We often feel depressed after a loved one dies but it is not the same as clinical depression. Let’s look at both.
Common grief reactions include:
· Tearfulness, emotional grief bursts
· Loss of appetite
· Range of emotions, anger, guilt, sadness, relief, loneliness
· Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
· Loss of interest in normal activities
· Exhaustion yet difficulty sleeping
· Thoughts of dying or anxiety about dying
Symptoms of Clinical Depression include:
· Depressed mood or irritability for long periods of time
· Loss of interest in normal activities
· Loss or increase appetite with weight loss or gain
· Sleeping too much, feeling fatigue or loss of energy
· Poor personal hygiene and often cluttered, messy home
· Feelings of worthlessness, guilt
· Recurrent thoughts of death focused on self
· Significant impairment of daily functioning
As you can see, some grief and depression symptoms are the same and a person can be experiencing both at the same time. A marked difference in grief and depression is the focus of grief is on the death of the loved one and the events surrounding that while depression is a focus on self. For example, in grief someone might say, "I don't know how to go on without my husband," and in depression someone might say, "There is nothing good in the world and I don't want to be here."
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