How do I know if I am depressed or just sad?

Sadness responds to something specific, comes and goes, and does not remove your interest in everything. Depression lasts for weeks, is there nearly every day and affects sleep, energy, interest and how you see yourself. If in doubt, a professional can assess it with you in a first session.

Can depression be treated without medication?

In many cases, yes. Clinical guidelines recommend psychotherapy as a first-line treatment for mild and moderate depression. In more severe cases, combining it with medication usually works better. That decision is made by medical staff, and therapy accompanies it.

What happens in the first session?

You talk about how you are, since when and what has changed. You do not need to arrive with a diagnosis or know how to explain it well. The first session is for understanding what is going on and deciding together how to continue.

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Guide

Depression: signs and when to ask for help

Being sad is not being depressed, and being depressed does not always feel like sadness. This guide explains what depression is, how to recognise it in yourself or someone close, what actually helps and when it is time to talk to a professional.

Updated: September 11, 2026

What depression is

Depression is a low mood that lasts at least two weeks and takes almost everything with it: motivation, energy, interest in what used to matter, the ability to enjoy things. It is not a bad patch or a lack of willpower. It is one of the most common mental health conditions and one of the most responsive to treatment.

It can appear after something specific, such as a loss, a break-up or a period of heavy pressure, or with no cause you can point to. Both are real. It does not have one face either: in some people it looks like sadness, in others like irritability, constant tiredness or a sense of emptiness.

Being depressed is not being sad. Sadness responds to something and moves; depression settles in and colours everything else.

How to recognise it

Your mood has been on the floor most of the day, nearly every day, for more than two weeks.
What you used to enjoy no longer means anything: friends, sport, series, food, sex.
Getting going in the morning is hard and the tiredness does not lift with sleep.
You sleep much more or much less than usual, or eat much more or much less.
You struggle to concentrate, decide or finish things you used to do without thinking.
You feel worthless or guilty about things that do not matter, or small in the face of any problem.
You think others would be better off without you, or you have had thoughts of hurting yourself.

What helps

Talking to someone. Saying it out loud to someone you trust does not cure it, but it breaks the isolation depression feeds on. It is the first step, and usually the hardest.

Moving your body, even without wanting to. Depression removes motivation and then uses that lack of motivation as proof that nothing is worth it. A short walk every day breaks that circle better than any grand resolution.

Minimal routines. Getting up at a set time, eating at another, leaving the house once. When everything weighs, structure holds what motivation cannot.

What therapy does. Psychotherapy is a first-line treatment for depression, alone or alongside medication depending on severity. In therapy you identify what keeps it going in your case, work on the thoughts that feed it and recover, step by step, the activities depression took away. It is not talking for its own sake: there is a plan and it is reviewed.

What it does not do. It does not promise a timeframe or a guaranteed cure, and it does not replace medical care when that is needed. If your doctor or psychologist think medication could help, they coordinate rather than compete.

When to ask for help

A low of a few days, with a reason, usually passes. If the low mood has lasted more than two weeks, if it has started to affect work, study or relationships, or if you notice several of the signs above at once, it is time to talk to a professional. The sooner, the shorter the road usually is.

If you have thoughts of hurting yourself or of not wanting to go on, do not wait: call 800 911 2000 (Línea de la Vida). In immediate danger, call 911. We Are Psycho does not provide emergency care.

Who you would talk to

Licensed professionals on our team who work on this. You choose, and you can change if it does not fit.

Ainhoa Corbera
Licensed psychologist · Clinical director
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Jack Díaz Ponce
Integrative Wellness Psychologist
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Melanie Olvera Ventura
Child and adolescent clinical psychologist
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Frequently asked questions

How do I know if I am depressed or just sad?: Sadness responds to something specific, comes and goes, and does not remove your interest in everything. Depression lasts for weeks, is there nearly every day and affects sleep, energy, interest and how you see yourself. If in doubt, a professional can assess it with you in a first session.
Can depression be treated without medication?: In many cases, yes. Clinical guidelines recommend psychotherapy as a first-line treatment for mild and moderate depression. In more severe cases, combining it with medication usually works better. That decision is made by medical staff, and therapy accompanies it.
What happens in the first session?: You talk about how you are, since when and what has changed. You do not need to arrive with a diagnosis or know how to explain it well. The first session is for understanding what is going on and deciding together how to continue.

Sources

An informational guide prepared by We Are Psycho from reference bodies and guidelines. It does not replace an individual clinical assessment.

If you need urgent help

If there is immediate danger: Call the emergency number. It answers 24 hours a day. 911
If you are having suicidal thoughts: Call the Línea de la Vida. It is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, every day. 800 911 2000

We Are Psycho is not an emergency service and does not handle crises. The free information call explains how therapy works: it is neither crisis care nor a clinical assessment. If this is not an emergency, you can book a session below.