The soul of a person is seized with a grief after the death of someone who was always with him in his good and bad time. However, after the death of the loved one, the grief can also mark the beginning of depression. Grieving and sadness is natural after the death of the spouse. However, if you are feeling depressed, you are suffering from a disorder. The definition of depression by Merriam-Webster describes depression as a medical condition in which the patient feels hopeless and sad. The person suffering from this condition also feels unimportant and struggles in living a normal life.
How Depression after the Death of Loved One Is Different From Grief
Everyone have one’s own way of grieving. However, some people experience symptoms of grief that are very similar to depression. Intense sadness and social isolation are symptoms associated with both depression and grief. Here are the differences between depression and grief.
| Depression | Grief | |
| Self esteem | People suffering from depression often lack self esteem.
They feel worthless. They even hate themselves. |
A grief-stricken person does not have these feelings. |
| Symptom duration | A person feels depressed all the time. | Symptoms of grief fluctuate. |
| Acceptance of support | Depressed persons often isolate themselves from the society. They even refuse to accept support from family and friends. | Grief-stricken also isolate them from society but they accept support from family, friends and society. |
| Delusion | People suffering from depression often see things that are actually not there. They hear voices and believe in something that is not true. | Those who are grieving do not experience these symptoms. |
Complicated Grief
When someone feels alone after a loved one’s death, grief is a normal set of emotions. The complicated grief occurs when a person experiences grief that lasts longer than the normal. It is something between grief and depression.
Symptoms
Following are the symptoms of complicated grief:
- Longing for the deceased
- Finding it hard to accept the death
- Bitterness over the loss
- Unable to think about anything else except the death of the spouse
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