When a loved one passes, this can have a large impact on our life. It can be so that it causes us to be depressed for a long period of time. But if you are somber because of the passing of a loved one, is that not grief rather than depression? There are certain conditions bound to depression. The passing of a loved one can be a criteria causing depression not to be the proper diagnosis. In this article we will discuss this further and also suggest possible treatments for grief and depression.

Depression in case of death? Is it possible?

To diagnose a depression, the DSM manual is generally used. This manual states that you cannot be depressed by the passing of someone. This namely is grief rather than depression. Grief and depression are very similar when it comes to their symptoms and are therefore difficult to differentiate. In this context, they only differ in cause. However, it can be so that grief develops into a depression.This means that, if you continue grieving for a long time, the sadness starts to dominate your life and your unhappiness goes beyond the death only, then we can speak of a depression. How do you know when grief turns into a depression? We will give an example of this. Imagine that your grandmother passed away a year ago, but you still experience crying fits and somber feelings due to the passing of your grandmother. but the somber feelings go beyond the passing of your grandmother. You no longer want to do things, and if something happens which cannot immediately be considered to be positive, you become very sad and somber because of it. Your immune system against negativity has lowered in a sense, meaning other things can also really easily be seen as negative. In that case, we can speak of a depression being at play.

Depression in case of death? Treatment of depression and grief

15 Minutes 4 Me developed an online self-help program which helps you in re-gaining your joy in life. You will once again get to know your power sources and re-discover why you might enjoy life. The program gives everyone personal tools in order to help you to deal with your depression and grief.

Depression in case of death? Take the depression test!

If you want to know if you might be suffering from a depression or to what extent you experience symptoms of depression, you can take the free online depression test here!