The question of the difference was raised on another forum i go on and i was wondering about people’s opinions/experience.
One thing that was mentioned for negative symptoms as opposed to depression was ‘blunted affect’. However Wikipedia says > Blunted affect can be symptomatic of schizophrenia, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, or brain damage.[3]
I think depression is complete shut down whereas negative symptoms of schizophrenia (in my humble opinion) just leaves you feeling kinda flat. But that’s just my humble opinion. Flat as in lacking any sorta fizz or vitality.
But depression is awful, I did have it when I was younger. I was out for the count for 6 months straight. But youre always running from it…It keeps following you. I remember Clive Anderson asked Chris Eubank why he spent so much time running 10 miles daily. He asked was he running from himself…But that’s depression for you…you just have to try to keep away from it…keep active, not physically as such but active with your time.
I had a nurse say several years ago that the lack of motivation could be a chronic negative symptom of my illness but then she went on to say i could be depressed.
I am low on ambition/drive/and motivation and do very little. Online tests for depression usually indicate minor/mild depression but i am not sure that is enough to account for the low motivation etc.
I am not sure this is connected to blunted affect but i feel negative things quite intensely whereas positive things- the response is somewhat muted.
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since people feel depression differently, I bet they feel negative symptoms differently.
Depression, I’m low, I’m lack of energy, but I still feel everything very deeply. Small jabs and perceived rudeness stings deep.
During negative symptom, I feel like a piece of furniture. I feel catatonic, and covered in wax. you could stick me with very real pins and I wouldn’t really feel it. Nothing hits me. I’m just there. I can hear what people say, but I have no compulsion to react. It’s like seeing everything vaguely through thick glass.
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I think depression is when you feel something - sadness, guilt, worthlessness, tearfulness and so on. Negative symptoms is when you feel nothing, empty, blank, dead, no emotion.
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