In order to understand the difference between sadness and clinical depression, we must first understand that sadness is felt universally, while clinical depression may not be. The textbook definition of clinical depression is 'a change in mood along with a cluster of symptoms'. These symptoms are emotional, cognitive, somatic, and behavioral.
For example, we all will experience sadness when we loose a loved one, and we all have different ways of grieving, There is no set period of time when we will automatically stop being sad. …
