---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Depression, contrary to what we normally…"
description: "\"“Depression, contrary to what we normally believe, is not sadness but an inability to fully feel sadness. Depression is sorrow denied.”\" — Eric Weiner"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/eric-weiner-1843_depression_depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally_3074861.jpg"
---

#  Depression, contrary to what we normally believe, is not…

![“Depression, contrary to what we normally believe, is not sadness but an inability to fully feel sadness. Depression is sorrow denied.” quote by Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/eric-weiner-1843_depression_depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally_3074861.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/eric-weiner-1843_depression_depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally_3074861.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/eric-weiner-1843_depression_depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally_3074861.jpg)

> ““Depression, contrary to what we normally believe, is not sadness but an inability to fully feel sadness. Depression is sorrow denied.””

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Describes depression as a blockage of feeling sadness, not just sadness itself.

**In simple terms:** Depression blocks feeling.

Key Takeaway

Seek ways to reconnect with emotions.

Themes

mental health emotional awareness psychology

Mood

somber thoughtful

Type

psychological educational

When to use this quote

- therapy sessions
- mindfulness practice
- journaling

Key Concepts

affect regulation existential distress coping mechanisms

Questions to Reflect On

- What emotions feel inaccessible?
- How can you safely explore them?

A Different Perspective

May simplify complex mental health issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/)

## Related quotes

> [Only where there is disillusionment and depression and sorrow does happiness arise; without the despair of loss, there is no hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/only-where-there-is-disillusionment-and-depression-and-sorrow-does/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [This is the difference between depression and sorrow - sorrowful, you are in great trouble because something matters so much; depressed, you are miserable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-e-buckrose/this-is-the-difference-between-depression-and-sorrow-sorrowful-you/)

[J. E. Buckrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-e-buckrose/)

> [The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow's denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-vedder/the-sorrow-grows-bigger-when-the-sorrow-s-denied/)

[Eddie Vedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-vedder/)

> [I always believed that I had to pretend to be happy. But what I've learned is that it doesn't matter what race or class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adwoa-aboah/i-always-believed-that-i-had-to-pretend-to-be-happy-but-what-i-ve/)

[Adwoa Aboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adwoa-aboah/)

> [Emotions, in my experience aren't covered by single words. I don't believe in "sadness," "joy," or "regret." I'd like to have at my disposal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/emotions-in-my-experience-aren-t-covered-by-single-words-i-don-t/)

[Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/)

> [“No joy, no communion, no love. Only where there is disillusionment and depression and sorrow does happiness arise; without the despair of loss, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/no-joy-no-communion-no-love-only-where-there-is-disillusionment-and/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [EVERYBODY IS HURT .. EVERYBODY CRIES .. BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TO KILL YOUR SELF WITH SADNESS NOR DEPRESSION .. CHEER…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brokenswag/everybody-is-hurt-everybody-cries-but-it-doesn-t-mean-that-you-have/)

BROKENSWAG

> [The moment a man questions the meaning and value of life, he is sick, since objectively neither has any existence; by asking this question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-moment-a-man-questions-the-meaning-and-value-of-life-he-is-sick/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [ \[The blues\] is the antidote for sadness and depression. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-haynes/the-blues-is-the-antidote-for-sadness-and-depression/)

[Warren Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-haynes/)

> [I know so many people who feel hopeless, and they ask me, 'What should I do?' And I say: 'Act. Do something.' Because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-thunburg/i-know-so-many-people-who-feel-hopeless-and-they-ask-me-what-should-i/)

[Greta Thunburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-thunburg/)

> [Try to put on a smile and keep your head up. Don't easily let sadness and depression out. There's gonna be that someone that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/try-to-put-on-a-smile-and-keep-your-head-up-don-t-easily-let-sadness/)

Patience

> [“Sadness such as mine is not depression; it can be blown away by an interesting conversation, a welcome telephone call, or a compelling idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-heilbrun/sadness-such-as-mine-is-not-depression-it-can-be-blown-away-by-an/)

[Carolyn Heilbrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-heilbrun/)

> [“I think we mistake sadness for depression, because life is basically sad, and its the failure to recognize that that leads to this sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-hardy/i-think-we-mistake-sadness-for-depression-because-life-is-basically/)

[Jeremy Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-hardy/)

> [“Her initial elation had given way to something unexpected: a heightened sadness. Even depression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/her-initial-elation-had-given-way-to-something-unexpected-a/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [Funny how you used to bring smile on my face. now it's all changed and all you do is bring me to sadness...depression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r/funny-how-you-used-to-bring-smile-on-my-face-now-it-s-all-changed-and/)

R

## More by Eric Weiner

> [We can't love a place or a person if we always have one foot out the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/we-can-t-love-a-place-or-a-person-if-we-always-have-one-foot-out-the/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“Money sometimes buys happiness. You have to break it down, though. Money is a means to an end. The problem is when you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/money-sometimes-buys-happiness-you-have-to-break-it-down-though-money/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“My way of thinking is completely different,” he says. “I have no such mountains to scale; basically, I find that living itself is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/my-way-of-thinking-is-completely-different-he-says-i-have-no-such/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“Social scientists estimate that about 70 percent of our happiness stems from our relationships, both quantity and quality, with friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/social-scientists-estimate-that-about-70-percent-of-our-happiness/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“It is not the skills we actually have that determine how we feel but the ones we think we have" ... we experience flow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/it-is-not-the-skills-we-actually-have-that-determine-how-we-feel-but/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“In a nutshell, Gross National Happiness seeks to measure a nation’s progress not by its balance sheet but rather by the happiness—or unhappiness—of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/in-a-nutshell-gross-national-happiness-seeks-to-measure-a-nation-s/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [You look around the world at geniuses, and they don't appear randomly, they appear in genius clusters. Athens in 50 BC, Florence 1500, Silicon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/you-look-around-the-world-at-geniuses-and-they-don-t-appear-randomly/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [What is the ideal audio atmosphere for creativity and it turns out it is not complete silence, and it is not a very loud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/what-is-the-ideal-audio-atmosphere-for-creativity-and-it-turns-out-it/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“Bhutan is the land of la. The monosyllabic word serves as all-purpose affirmation, honorific, and verbal tic. Mostly, it is a softener, appended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/bhutan-is-the-land-of-la-the-monosyllabic-word-serves-as-all-purpose/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“He tells me of one American woman, forty-five years old, who was able to conceive only after being blessed by the Holy Dildo. That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/he-tells-me-of-one-american-woman-forty-five-years-old-who-was-able/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“We need to a new word to describe Swiss happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/we-need-to-a-new-word-to-describe-swiss-happiness/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“The narrator, in a voice-of-God tenor, explains the experiment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/the-narrator-in-a-voice-of-god-tenor-explains-the-experiment/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“Yes, but it doesn’t matter, Csíkszentmihalyi argues. Either way, we experience flow, a state of mind where we are so engaged in an activity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/yes-but-it-doesn-t-matter-cs-kszentmihalyi-argues-either-way-we/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“Maybe happiness is this: not feeling like you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else. Maybe the current conditions in Switzerland .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/maybe-happiness-is-this-not-feeling-like-you-should-be-elsewhere/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“Everyone has their own idea of happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/everyone-has-their-own-idea-of-happiness/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

[Explore all 194 Eric Weiner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

## More Depression quotes

> [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/)

Kirsten Gilchrist

> [“my stomach turned and burned with the acid of failure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ames/my-stomach-turned-and-burned-with-the-acid-of-failure/)

Heidi Ames

> [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/)

[Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/)

> [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/)

[Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/)

> [“Why in depression" "If we are human, why not have the right to smile, Why in depression, young, and beautiful as earth, Why in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanilsa-pena/why-in-depression-if-we-are-human-why-not-have-the-right-to-smile-why/)

Yanilsa pena

> [“Depression makes me stronger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shayamalan/depression-makes-me-stronger/)

Shayamalan

> [“Shorter believes that psychosomatic illnesses (such as leg paralysis at the turn of the twentieth century or multiple personality disorder at the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/shorter-believes-that-psychosomatic-illnesses-such-as-leg-paralysis/)

[Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/)

> [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/)

[Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/)

> [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/)

Hugh Williamson

> [I'm certainly not a perfect mother, but I'm trying to be what my mother wasn't for me. My mother's battled depression, so I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-hamill/i-m-certainly-not-a-perfect-mother-but-i-m-trying-to-be-what-my/)

[Dorothy Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-hamill/)

> [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/)

James Buckham Kennedy

> [Scars by Papa Roach. &lt;3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophielianne/scars-by-papa-roach-3/)

Sophielianne

[Browse all 4,965 Depression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Depression, contrary to what we normally believe, is not sadness but an inability to fully feel sadness. Depression is sorrow denied.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eric Weiner"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally-believe-is-not-sadness-but-an/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Depression"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally-believe-is-not-sadness-but-an/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/eric-weiner-1843_depression_depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally_3074861.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/eric-weiner-1843_depression_depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally_3074861.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ac/eric-weiner-1843_depression_depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally_3074861.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Depression, contrary to what we normally believe, is not sadness but an inability to fully feel sadness…” — Eric Weiner",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Eric Weiner",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Depression, contrary to what we normally...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally-believe-is-not-sadness-but-an/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/depression-contrary-to-what-we-normally-believe-is-not-sadness-but-an/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
