What is the difference between Hopelessness and Depression?

Hopelessness and Depression are two words that are most times used interchangeably, especially when you are discussing issues that are psychological in nature. Although both words are referring to a period that is filled with sadness. However, there are some little differences between them. Hopelessness means a period of despair; a period that seems you longer have any hope on something. It is an emotional state of mind that is characterized by the darkness of the heart because you no longer see any light in the situation you are passing through.

During this period, it seems all doors have been closed, and there's no means through which help can visit you. Depression, on the other hand, is a mental disorder, and it is a period of unhappiness. There are so many signs that will show a person that is feeling depressed. A depressed person will be isolating himself, and he will always be in a low mood. This will also affect his thinking, and at this point, if proper care is not shown, a depressed person might be thinking suicide as the only way out of his current situation

Some people may feel that these two are the same because those who usually go through depression go through periods of hopelessness. To be hopeless means that you do not believe that there are good things that will happen to your life anymore. When you are feeling lost, this means that you do not know how to resolve the situation anymore.

When you are feeling depressed, you have a general feeling of sadness that you cannot just shake off. Even if things are doing just fine, you feel so down that you want the whole situation to end. Depression has caused a lot of people to end their own lives because they do not know what will happen next anymore.