Sadness is a feeling and typical condition of human beings, characterized by lack of joy, energy, disposition and other emotions of dissatisfaction.
All human beings are or have been sad at some point in their lives. This is a natural condition for all individuals.
Sadness can present in different degrees of intensity, ranging from transient sadness, which usually lasts for a few minutes or hours, to deep sadness, which can persist for several days or weeks, in addition to being a sign of more complex problems, such as depression.
Several can be the reasons that trigger feelings of sadness, such as a broken heart, the loss of a job, the death of a friend or family member, and other situations that are viewed negatively by the person, causing them to be psychologically affected.
Among the main symptoms of sadness is discouragement, unwillingness to perform routine tasks and socialize.
According to American psychologist Paul Ekman, sadness is one of the "six basic emotions" of human beings, as well as happiness, anger, surprise, fear and disgust.
Etymologically, this term originated from the Latin sadness, a word that designated the “state of discouragement” or “unfortunate aspect”.
See also the meaning of melancholy.
deep sadness and depression
Many people confuse the meaning of depression with that of deep sadness, although both have some similar characteristics.
Depression is a neurochemical psychological illness, that is, the depressive individual does not need any specific reason that causes the feeling of sadness.
Deep sadness, on the other hand, has its cause related to some event (or a series of them) that intensely affects the individual.
Briefly, depression is a deeper and more complex condition, while deep sadness, even if it lasts for some time, tends to pass.
Learn more about the meaning of depression.
See also the eight main types of human emotions.