Am I Experiencing Grief or Depression?
Mstar Blog #5
by R.S. Doaty
Am I grieving, or am I depressed?
If you are asking yourself this question, you are already on the right track. Although grief and depression are deceptively similar, they are two entirely different things. And it isn’t always an “either-or” question. Sometimes you can be experiencing depression simultaneously as you are grieving a loss – fighting two different battles.
I define grief as how we experience loss.
I define depression as how we experience life.
If you look at grief and depression from this perspective, you can see it is possible to experience each one without the other, or experience both simultaneously.
When you look at grief and depression as I have just defined them, it is also important that we do not label either grief or depression as an “emotion”. Although they are both catalysts for a wide range of emotions, they are not themselves emotions.
Why is this emotion-label distinction important? It’s because our emotions are merely a symptom of an underlying circumstance – either the circumstance of grief or the circumstance of depression.
Our emotions are a clue about what is happening within our grief or our depression. And just as treating symptoms does not cure a disease, treating the emotions associated with either grief or depression will do little to impact the underlying causes or reconciliation of our grief or depression.
There is another very important distinction. Most people who experience grief because of a loss do not require professional mental health intervention, while most people who are struggling with depression will benefit from a wide range of therapy and medications. Depression is rarely a do-it-yourself endeavor, unlike grief.
But that’s not to say that unreconciled grief is nothing to worry about. If you choose to do nothing about a devastating loss, you are putting yourself at mental, physical, and spiritual risk. Grief should not be ignored.
What should you do about your grief? You should mourn your losses!
Grief is how we experience loss, and mourning is what we intentionally choose to do about our loss. If you do not fully and authentically mourn a loss, it remains an unreconciled loss and a continual burden, consciously or subconsciously. It becomes an added emotional weight we must carry through life. Learn to mourn!
If you think your grief has turned into depression, it may be because you are carrying the weight of unreconciled losses through life. Your untended grief is stealing your joy and energy. It feels just like depression, but it is unreconciled past losses. Life looks dark and hopeless because you have not done the necessary work of grief.
It’s important to be able to determine whether you are dealing with grief, depression, or both. The most important first step is to talk to someone about your struggles and seek appropriate help. And you are fighting a pointless battle trying to control your uncontrollable emotional symptoms.
Ask God to point you to someone to talk to!
by R.S. Doaty
Am I grieving, or am I depressed?
If you are asking yourself this question, you are already on the right track. Although grief and depression are deceptively similar, they are two entirely different things. And it isn’t always an “either-or” question. Sometimes you can be experiencing depression simultaneously as you are grieving a loss – fighting two different battles.
I define grief as how we experience loss.
I define depression as how we experience life.
If you look at grief and depression from this perspective, you can see it is possible to experience each one without the other, or experience both simultaneously.
When you look at grief and depression as I have just defined them, it is also important that we do not label either grief or depression as an “emotion”. Although they are both catalysts for a wide range of emotions, they are not themselves emotions.
Why is this emotion-label distinction important? It’s because our emotions are merely a symptom of an underlying circumstance – either the circumstance of grief or the circumstance of depression.
Our emotions are a clue about what is happening within our grief or our depression. And just as treating symptoms does not cure a disease, treating the emotions associated with either grief or depression will do little to impact the underlying causes or reconciliation of our grief or depression.
There is another very important distinction. Most people who experience grief because of a loss do not require professional mental health intervention, while most people who are struggling with depression will benefit from a wide range of therapy and medications. Depression is rarely a do-it-yourself endeavor, unlike grief.
But that’s not to say that unreconciled grief is nothing to worry about. If you choose to do nothing about a devastating loss, you are putting yourself at mental, physical, and spiritual risk. Grief should not be ignored.
What should you do about your grief? You should mourn your losses!
Grief is how we experience loss, and mourning is what we intentionally choose to do about our loss. If you do not fully and authentically mourn a loss, it remains an unreconciled loss and a continual burden, consciously or subconsciously. It becomes an added emotional weight we must carry through life. Learn to mourn!
If you think your grief has turned into depression, it may be because you are carrying the weight of unreconciled losses through life. Your untended grief is stealing your joy and energy. It feels just like depression, but it is unreconciled past losses. Life looks dark and hopeless because you have not done the necessary work of grief.
It’s important to be able to determine whether you are dealing with grief, depression, or both. The most important first step is to talk to someone about your struggles and seek appropriate help. And you are fighting a pointless battle trying to control your uncontrollable emotional symptoms.
Ask God to point you to someone to talk to!
Posted in grief
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