Feeling depressed when it is a good day? Here's how depression works

S No.

do not index

ready to publish

backlinks

https://telegra.ph/Depression-Treatment-Without-Medication-That-Will-Be-Able-To-Trust-05-06https://www.click4r.com/posts/g/4204750/how-to-cheer-up-a-depressed-birdhttp://sacklinda2.jigsy.com/entries/general/Depressed-Or-Overwhelmedhttps://diigo.com/0oguxehttp://b3.zcubes.com/v.aspx?mid=8188794https://squareblogs.net/quietspleen7/why-ladies-twice-as-depressed-as-menhttps://writeablog.net/fogbook9/depression-9-ways-your-thinking-can-cause-depressionhttps://chimelook8.bravejournal.net/post/2022/05/06/Providing-Established-Period-Of-Time-And-Hope-A-Depressed-Friend-Needs

content score ss

# of words

1105

publish date

Apr 14, 2022

✨POV✨: You're lying in bed, reminiscing and already feeling nostalgic about the day you've had. You had a wonderful day, almost a blissful one. But now, you're left with the feeling of sadness, instead of happiness.

I mean, how does it add up?

Good day + positive emotions through the day = feelings of sadness at night?

There are a number of theories that attempt to explain this paradox, but it's more complex than just that. The first and foremost point to be noted here is that there is no one-right-explanation. What it means to feel sad or to feel depressed after having a great day is very subjective. But the two broad explanations possibly at work here are:

🥴 It's either a happiness hangover

💔 Or depression catching up after one positive experience

Let's understand these two in detail 🧩

🥴 Happiness Hangover

Like a general hangover, when the effects of a pleasurable experience begin wearing off, we feel low because the high no longer exists. This is primarily a biological process, which is more common than the latter explanation.

Our brain releases feel-good chemicals when we experience pleasure. These chemicals maintain feelings of happiness and motivation as long as the pleasure element is present.

Once the pleasure element is gone, our brain stops producing these chemicals, transporting us back to feeling neutral. But because the difference in how we felt in these two different stages is stark and perceivable, this state of neutrality can feel like sadness.

What theory backs this concept? 🧠

Richard Solomon, a psychologist from the 1980s, proposed the Opponent-Process Theory, which says that when you experience one emotion, you'll also experience the opposite emotion right after are pretty high.

So, if I'm feeling sad right now, the chances are that I will feel happy at least some level in the next moment. Imagine that you've received your grades on a test and they're not as high as you'd hoped - it's natural for you to feel sad, and it's also likely that you will find some positive emotion in the next moment.

Maybe you're feeling relief that the test is at least done, or you focus on how much effort you did put in, or perhaps the realization of where you lacked will bring you a feeling of control and motivation.

Even when we try to understand this phenomenon through the lens of evolution, it makes sense.

When there is a highly positive or negative emotional experience, our brain puts in the opposite effort to bring us back to a more regular and stable state of mind for our survival.

If not for this biological process, our experience of happiness and positive emotions would continue (until a negative trigger shows up), increasing the likelihood that we let our guard down and ignore threats.

On the flip side, if we only experience negative emotions, the chances are that our motivation levels and ability to think creatively would plummet.

So, in simple words, having a happiness hangover is a survival instinct because we don't want to be swayed in any one direction for too long and lose our sense of reality.

💔 Depression Catching Up

The other explanation is that we may feel sad at the end of a good day because one positive experience does not heal depression (as lovely and ideal as that may seem). Depression is a complex mental health condition that is neither triggered nor healed in a moment

In the case of depression, the feeling of sadness may also be triggered because having a positive experience between a general series of negative emotions can be confusing. We may begin to question our depression - 'am I faking my depression because I was able to have a good day today?'. But an important reminder here is that - neither mental health nor depression is linear. We can have good days while experiencing depression and have bad days when we are at the peak of our mental health.

When it's a happy occasion, and logically we are very happy, our depression might still kick in. This is because depression makes it hard for us to internalize happiness. We know it's a time to celebrate, but the internal motivation to celebrate or the conviction that there is indeed something that is celebrated can be missing.

Differences between a Happiness Hangover and Depression 🆚

The difference between a happiness hangover and depression can be understood in three ways:

1️⃣ how long the feeling of sadness lasts,

2️⃣ if the feeling of depression affects other parts of your life and

3️⃣ if other insecurities or wounds are triggered.

Depression, unlike a happiness hangover, would last for longer than a couple of nights, affect other parts of our lives too, and trigger seemingly unrelated negative feelings. Whereas for a happiness hangover, the chances are that there would be a general feeling of sadness (not connected to other experiences or feelings) which would subside in a day or two.

Depression tends to have relatively more severe symptoms that include emotional and physical problems such as:

Feeling overwhelmed or anxious

Feeling irritable or agitated

Overthinking

Oversleeping or insomnia

Social withdrawal

Loss of interest and low motivation

To conclude 🏳️

Depression is complex because it cannot be understood, analyzed, or tested like a physical ailment. Our mind is a mysterious place, and when it's challenging to make sense of what's happening or how to feel better, we can rely on the awareness of how depression works and what its general effects are.

So when you're feeling low after a good day next time, tap into this awareness, and you'll know which explanation fits your experience of sadness. And as passing as a happiness hangover is, depression is just as treatable and manageable. To learn more about depression, click here.

Please Note 🚩

Severe Depression (aka clinical depression) is a mental illness that can be of two different types - mild depression and major depression (aka major depressive disorder). Common depression symptoms include prolonged depressed mood, low self-esteem, mood swings, loss of interest, and having trouble focusing. Other physical symptoms include sleep problems, weight gain, excessive sleeping, or difficulty concentrating.

Depression is also often accompanied by a mood disorder or other mental disorders such as seasonal affective disorder, bipolar disorder, or premenstrual dysphoric disorder. If you have symptoms of depression or thoughts of self-harm, please use the national suicide prevention lifeline or contact a mental health professional to seek treatment options.