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Depression in older adults must be differentiated from normal grief or bereavement. This population often faces the loss of loved ones, such as a spouse or life-long friend. Grief following such an event is normal. This grief may include many of the symptoms of depression for a short period of time. However, there are differences between these symptoms in a grieving individual and a depressed patient. Older adults who are grieving tend to focus on the deceased. Their depressive symptoms are usually much more passive and less severe than those of truly depressed individuals. Patients with depression, on the other hand, tend to think more in terms of themselves. They often feel guilt and a reduction in self-esteem.

The pain of bereavement is temporary. Depression tends to last much longer. In general terms, the most intense symptoms of normal grief occur in the weeks following the death. Common symptoms during this period include shock, disbelief, numbness and emptiness. Anxiety, insomnia and physical complaints may also occur.

The first year following the death is a period of adjustment in normal bereavement. People work through and come to accept their loss during this period. After this first year, the grieving individual undergoes recovery. He or she learns to accept life without the lost loved one.