How to know when grief and loss become depression

When you lose something meaningful to you, it is natural to experience grief and pain because it was valuable.

Everyone goes through the grief process but not everybody recovers fast. Some people spend a short time grieving and then move on.

On the other hand, some people find it hard to recover from grief and it becomes a part of their life.

Such people will hardly be happy because the grief has taken over them. One of the ways to know when grief and loss become depression is the symptom duration.

Depressed people experience depression almost every time. While grieving people feel symptoms that do not occur regularly.

This means that they can grieve this week, and forget about the incident the following week.

Another way to know when grief becomes depression is the acceptance of support. Grieving people might not want to be found in social gatherings, but they willingly accept support from friends and family.

In comparison, depressed people prefer to isolate themselves, and they prefer not to receive support from loved ones.

They prefer to wallow in their condition because support, love, and care make no meaning to them at that point.

Additionally, grieving people can still manage to attend to other aspects of their lives and remain productive. They participate in different activities to take their minds off what they are grieving about.

In comparison, depressed people find it extremely difficult to function. They might not be able to do other vital tasks because their mind is occupied with feelings of sadness.

It is correct to mention that grief is one of the major triggers of depression. However, not every grieving individual will experience depression.

Therefore, if you know anyone struggling with getting over their loss, you can assist them in helping professional help because they might be depressed.

Some mental health providers help people overcome depression and complicated grief through medication, therapy, counseling, etc.