Difference between melancholy and depression, and how can we distinguish between them?

It was the turn of melancholy, which, according to the dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy, means vague, deep, calm and permanent sadness, born of physical or moral causes that means that those who suffer from it do not find pleasure or fun in anything.

In other words, it is a rather unpleasant thing, it is an emotion that invades us like that feeling of depression, with a sense of longing, of remembering those times, those things that have happened and this is an emotion that anyone can experience at any time. of their life.

Source of the definition

Normally, longing feels or invades us when we hear a sad song like Piero's, my old man's, and when we see a movie that evokes past times, those 20's, those 80's times that were better for us. , or also, it can be an example of melancholy, feeling that something important has ended, like a relationship with someone we loved very much. That can be melancholy.

Also, the rain, at least in my case, evokes many melancholic feelings, it makes me feel gray, dull.

There is a very fine line between what is melancholy and what is depression, because both have feelings of sadness, of abandonment, but there are some differences that are relevant to know, to know how to distinguish when it is depression and when it is melancholy.

Let's start with melancholy, which is characterized by that feeling of sadness that is accompanied by that feeling of longing for a past time, for something that already was. This is something, as I have said, that any human being can experience at any moment in life, but melancholy does not indicate that the person has an emotional or psychological disorder. This is very crucial to clarify, while depression is already a medical condition that affects mental health and harms mood.

The main indication of depression is that the person is sad all the time, that he is abandoned, does not bathe, despises himself, forgets himself and shows disinterest in everything, does not care
Life doesn't matter to him and he doesn't want to do any kind of daily activities.

So it is very clear that depression is much more serious than melancholy, it is a medical condition.

There are specific differences between melancholy and depression. The symptoms, for example, in addition to depressed mood, is that depression is characterized by physical symptoms such as the person cannot sleep, feels tired all the time, loses appetite, stops eating, feels guilty about many things, he feels that he is useless and can even have suicidal thoughts. While melancholy does not have these physical symptoms, then it is very important to distinguish it.

The intensity is also another symptom that differentiates them. Melancholy is much milder than depression. Depression is usually much more intense and overwhelming. Duration is also another relevant difference between melancholia and depression. Melancholy is longing for a past time, it is something that will last a few days or a few hours, if not a few weeks, while depression is a disorder that lasts years or months, it lasts much longer than melancholy.

This is the most important difference.

Melancholy is also caused by specific events in life, such as the death of a relative, a disappointment in love, things like that, while depression can be related to psychological factors, social factors. This is a big difference to take into account.

Basically, melancholy is something that is temporary, that anyone can experience, while depression is a medical condition that requires professional help. Both conditions include feelings of homesickness, sadness and lack of interest, but depression is much more serious and has very marked physical symptoms.

If your dear reader thinks that you are having symptoms of depression, it is important that you seek professional help immediately, as long as you do not worry if you get homesickness, it happens to all of us, and it is something that will only last a while, only we must accept it for what it is, and let it go.