Search Depression and Mania Depression and mania represent the two major poles of mood disorders. Mood disorders are also called affective disorders. Sadness and joy are part of the normal experience of everyday life and are different from the severe depression and mania that characterize mood disorders.
Sadness is a natural response to loss, defeat, disappointment, trauma, or catastrophe.
Sadness may be psychologically beneficial because it permits a person to withdraw from offensive or unpleasant situations, which may aid recovery. Grief or bereavement is the most common of the normal reactions to a loss or separation, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, or romantic disappointment. Bereavement and loss don't generally cause persistent, incapacitating depression except in people predisposed to mood disorders. Success and achievement normally incite feelings of elation. However, elation can sometimes be a defense against depression or a denial of the pain of loss.