{"id":3497,"date":"2020-11-15T07:49:51","date_gmt":"2020-11-15T06:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/towncryyers.com\/?p=3497"},"modified":"2020-11-15T07:53:50","modified_gmt":"2020-11-15T06:53:50","slug":"feeling-sad-during-hard-times-is-not-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/towncryyers.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/15\/feeling-sad-during-hard-times-is-not-depression\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeling Sad During Hard Times Is Not Depression"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>If we weren&#8217;t sad right now, something would be wrong.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By Alison Escalante M.D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are heavy times. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the globe and has reached unprecedented numbers in America, we are facing the reality that it\u2019s not going anywhere soon. In pandemic life, with all the associated hardships it brings, many of us are feeling a bit down. But are we sad or are we depressed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Pauline Boss, Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota and the pioneer who discovered ambiguous loss in the 1970s, wants us to understand that there is a big difference between sadness and depression. She believes it is normal and appropriate to feel sad during times like these and worries that such feelings will be mislabelled as depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In my conversation with her, Boss pointed out that the pandemic has brought a variety of losses into our lives, both clear cut and vague. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a loss of feeling safe and secure, a loss of control over our own lives, a loss of trust in the world as a safe place,\u201d says Boss. \u201cThose losses are ambiguous. But there are also clear cut losses, like the loss of loved ones or of jobs. Or experiencing bankruptcy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo wonder people are feeling weary,\u201d Boss explains. \u201cI really think the word \u2018ennui\u2019 fits, it\u2019s a kind of world-weariness. A heaviness. And it\u2019s perfectly normal to feel that way, especially the longer the pandemic goes on, the longer our leaders fight, the more there is no end in sight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her point is that this world-weariness so many of us are feeling could be misdiagnosed as depression. It\u2019s not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is not a clinical depression, but it might be called that traditionally,\u201d Boss explains. \u201cIt is a normal reaction to a pathological situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The danger for Boss is that clinicians may pathologize people for what is a normal reaction to \u201ca crazy and irrational situation.\u201d \u201cThings are so totally out of the control right now that you can\u2019t be with your loved ones, or you can\u2019t have your daily routine. You can\u2019t even go to a ballgame or have graduation. And how are we supposed to school our children? Parents of children are working. It\u2019s just chaos,\u201d says Boss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-jetpack-image-compare\"><div class=\"juxtapose\" data-mode=\"horizontal\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"3503\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/towncryyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pexels-photo-247314.jpeg?ssl=1\" alt=\"woman looking at sea while sitting on beach\" class=\"image-compare__image-before\"\/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"3504\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/towncryyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pexels-photo-5692126.jpeg?ssl=1\" alt=\"desperate woman touching glass wall with water drops\" class=\"image-compare__image-after\"\/><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sadness is Not Depression<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question of how we define depression, and of whether we are helping people when we label them with it, is a crucial one. As more and more clinicians and researchers question whether depression could be better understood as an adaptive response to adversity, rather than a mental illness, Dr. Boss wants to make sure that we at least get clear on sadness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI worry about giving a healthy person a diagnosis of illness,\u201d says Boss. \u201cA friend of mine who was grieving her husband\u2019s deterioration from dementia was sent to talk to a therapist and was given a diagnosis of depression. She called me and said, \u2018I feel terrible. It turns out I\u2019m sick now too.\u2019 I responded, \u2018You are not depressed! You are sad and you have a right to be sad because your husband is fading away.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Labels like depression carry a narrative of mental illness. For many, that creates an additional burden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it comes to the pandemic, Boss argues that we have a problem of stress, not a problem of mental illness when it comes to feelings of &#8220;ennui&#8221; and sadness. \u201cThe treatment for sadness is human connection. If we aren\u2019t sad right now then there is something wrong with us. There is a weariness now that is normal and natural and typical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The problem for Boss is that \u201cThere is nothing in the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual that outlines criteria for diagnosing mental health problems) to cover the stresses of an extraordinary life with the pandemic. I am afraid sometimes people are given diagnoses for convenience.\u201d And there is certainly the issue of getting the services people need to be covered by insurance companies. How likely is an insurance company to cover \u201csupportive counseling for grief and stress\u201d rather than depression?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-jetpack-image-compare\"><div class=\"juxtapose\" data-mode=\"horizontal\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"3499\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/towncryyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pexels-photo-5255996.jpeg?ssl=1\" alt=\"man in gray long sleeve shirt sitting on brown wooden chair\" class=\"image-compare__image-before\"\/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"3505\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/towncryyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pexels-photo-3007355.jpeg?ssl=1\" alt=\"photo of woman sitting on floor\" class=\"image-compare__image-after\"\/><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A Mastery-Oriented Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it\u2019s not all an issue of our limited labels or of how services are covered, because much of Boss\u2019s work has focused on the nature of our culture. \u201cOur culture is a culture of mastery,\u201d says Boss. \u201cWe like winning. We don\u2019t like losing. We like to be in control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She is quick to point out that a mastery-oriented culture has strengths, like the willingness to find solutions to problems that look unsolvable. She credits the mastery-orientation with many of America\u2019s solutions to technological and scientific challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the weakness in the mastery-based culture shows up during hard times. \u201cNow and then something bad happens and it is nobody\u2019s fault,\u201d says Boss. The problem is that we don\u2019t really believe that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSuffering is a dirty word in our culture. We don\u2019t like to be around people who are suffering, we move away from them, we think there is something wrong with them. We don\u2019t like to go to parts of the neighborhood where people are suffering.\u201d And when people are grieving, \u201cwe are so mastery-oriented we tend to shame people who aren\u2019t over things and back to work in a few days,\u201d says Boss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s not how grief actually works. You can\u2019t just get over it, particularly when the loss is ambiguous, meaning that it has no clear ending. \u201cThe more you allow people to feel the grief, the sooner they will find a new way to live life without what they\u2019ve lost,\u201d says Boss. \u201cPeople can live with loss and grief and live a relatively good life. Twenty years from the time you lost someone you may shed a tear again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is not depression for Boss, but she does find that grief is often mislabelled as depression. \u201cSadness hangs over you. It\u2019s real, it\u2019s painful, it\u2019s suffering and it\u2019s normal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe need to know that suffering is part of life and is likely to be part of our lives. It hurts and yet we can live with it and we should not be ashamed of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, shame around suffering comes naturally in our culture. It comes back to the desire for mastery. \u201cWe want what we want when we want it, and we don\u2019t want to feel pain. When pain happens to someone, like someone fails at a business, or somebody has cancer, somebody loses a loved one, then in a mastery culture we blame them because we don\u2019t want to believe it is random,\u201d says Boss. \u201cWe say that if you work hard you\u2019ll succeed. Or that bad things only happen to bad and lazy people. But that\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow and then something comes up that we can\u2019t control,\u201d says Boss. Like the pandemic. And that\u2019s when Boss believes we have to do the hard thing and say, \u201cthere is something bigger than us right now and we have to do what scientists say to take of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-jetpack-image-compare\"><div class=\"juxtapose\" data-mode=\"horizontal\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"3500\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/towncryyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pexels-photo-3783085.jpeg?ssl=1\" alt=\"happy lady finding right direction\" class=\"image-compare__image-before\"\/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"3506\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/towncryyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pexels-photo-3921853.jpeg?ssl=1\" alt=\"photo of woman in a dark room\" class=\"image-compare__image-after\"\/><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Find a Way to Connect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So how do we manage with the world-weariness we are facing? Like most experts, Boss wants us to find a way to connect. \u201cOne of the saving features is Zoom where you can have some social contact. I just had a yoga session with women I\u2019ve known for years, and it still felt good. There was no touching or hugging or looking into each other\u2019s eyes, but it was something,\u201d she says. She has been sequestered since March and is feeling the isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, given that family stress is her area of expertise, she wants us to have compassion for parents. With everyone at home, \u201cparents are just longing for some time alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-jetpack-image-compare\"><div class=\"juxtapose\" data-mode=\"horizontal\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"3501\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/towncryyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pexels-photo-4690701.jpeg?ssl=1\" alt=\"woman in white long sleeve shirt lying on bed\" class=\"image-compare__image-before\"\/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"3507\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/towncryyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pexels-photo-4144450.jpeg?ssl=1\" alt=\"boy in gray hoodie and black pants sitting on couch\" class=\"image-compare__image-after\"\/><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Find a Sense of Control<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the world feeling so out of our control, Boss believes that we have to find another way to find control. \u201cWe are not in charge of our own destinies at the moment. So how do we stay in control in the midst of the situation we have?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI encourage people to find something to control each day because as human beings we need something. Some people go inside themselves and listen to music, or meditate or do yoga. Other people go running, or learn a new recipe. I think it\u2019s a human need to have something that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. We need an answer. I used to say go clean up your silverware drawer,\u201d says Boss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m writing a book because I can\u2019t control anything else. I think this is admirable to have a purpose and to stay in control of their own lives. It\u2019s a very important coping strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Originally published at Psychology Today<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If we weren&#8217;t sad right now, something would be wrong. By Alison Escalante M.D. These are heavy times. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the globe and has reached unprecedented numbers in America, we&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[996],"class_list":["post-3497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-feeling-sad"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Feeling Sad During Hard Times Is Not Depression - Towncryyers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/towncryyers.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/15\/feeling-sad-during-hard-times-is-not-depression\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feeling Sad During Hard Times Is Not Depression - Towncryyers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If we weren&#8217;t sad right now, something would be wrong. 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