Sadness: Its Causes, Symptoms, And How To Cope With It

Sadness is a human emotion we all feel at some point in our lives. It is the opposite of happiness. We have all heard the phrase, “happiness is a choice.” Well, it is not. 

In reality, we do not pick our emotions. Emotions are natural responses to what happens to and for us. I wish we could wake up each day and choose how we will feel since I would never choose some emotions, such as sadness.

Similar to other emotions, sadness is a temporary feeling that diminishes over time. But if you feel very sad for a long time, you may be suffering from depression. It would be wise to seek medical attention.

What Makes People Sad?

Sadness is a normal response to things that make you feel hurt or upset. The common causes of sadness include:-

Loss can happen when you lose something or someone you really care about. Sadness can happen when a loved one dies, or you lose things like your job or house.

Failure: When places or things we have high hopes for let us down, it can make us sad. Failing in school, business, or a relationship are all common examples of failure.

Struggle: Struggle is not exciting in any way. Some of the struggles that can cause us a lot of sadness are money, health, and sometimes school problems.

Separation: We can feel sad when we have to let go of someone or something with whom we had a good relationship.

Loneliness: Loneliness is the state of being alone yet desiring human interaction, and sadness is the feeling that comes with it in most circumstances. It is rare to be lonely and not sad.

Physiological changes: The physical changes in your body can also make you sad. For instance, growing older, using drugs and other substances, and menstruation in women can all lead to sadness.

Symptoms of Sadness

It is possible to be sad and not know it. With emotions, it is not always easy to identify exactly what emotion you are experiencing. Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions classifies sadness as a primary emotion, meaning it is not hard to identify that they are sad. However, for some people, it is not always obvious that they are sad.

These are some of the symptoms of sadness.

Being moody – Being moody is characterized by changing your emotions often and unpredictably.

Lack of Interest – Lacking interest in wanting to do anything, especially the things you used to enjoy, may signify that you are sad.

Low energies – sadness brings about low energies when carrying out your daily activities.

Feelings of emptiness and hopelessness – This is a significant symptom of sadness, ultimately defeated by the situation and seeing no light at the end of the tunnel.

Wanting to cry – Crying is the most common way we express that we are sad. It is natural to want to cry when sad. Cry it out!

Overindulgence– another symptom of sadness is overindulging in things that will make us forget our emotions temporarily. Sadness is caused by low levels of dopamine in our brains; every time our dopamine levels are down, we are naturally drowned in a thing that will increase it. So when you are sad, you may find yourself overindulging in sleep, food, music, drugs, and alcohol, sometimes sex, just to forget about the emotion.

How To Deal With Sadness

The Positivity industry has led us to believe that sadness is a destructive emotion that should not be tolerated and that we should always choose happiness.

But as I pointed out earlier, we cannot choose our emotions. They just come to us naturally. If the emotion of sadness locates you, by all means, feel it, that is the first step to beating it.

Keep in mind that the same people telling you to always be happy are the same who will judge you when they see you happy in situations that require sadness.

For instance, you will be judged if you are laughing throughout the funeral service of a loved one. And God forbid the deceased died under mysterious circumstances. You will be booked to be questioned by the authority.

Here Is How You Can Beat Sadness

Figure out exactly what you are feeling – Before you self-diagnose with sadness, it is wise to ensure it is the sadness you are really feeling. You can refer to the wheels of emotions to help you figure out your exact emotion.

Accept: The first step in dealing with sadness and other emotions is acknowledging and accepting that you are indeed sad. Do not even try to affirm happiness at this time. 

Figure out precisely what brings sadness – figuring out exactly what is causing you is a significant step because sometimes some situations don’t deserve certain emotions. Find ways to figure out whether that situation is worth your sadness and if it is.

Cry – Cry if you must. Crying is an excellent way to relieve the emotion of sadness. Tears are never a weakness.

Talk to a friend – if you have to, find someone and share what you are going through. A problem shared is half solved.

Practice discipline – Sadness may reduce your energy levels or cause you to overindulge. While these may provide temporary gratification, they are detrimental to our productivity. This is where discipline comes in, doing whatever you are required to do even when you don’t feel like it.

Adopt a new hobby – when you lose interest in things you enjoyed before, consider adopting a new hobby.

Journal – writing is a creative way of expressing emotions.

Listen to music that helps you express your emotion – In a typical setting when you are sad, listening to happy music seems the best thing to do. However, listening to sad music when you are sad is what works.

9. Read Sad quotes to relate to other sad people.

10. Seek Counselling – Always seek counseling when you are overwhelmed by your emotions.

Role of Sadness In Our Lives

Whey they say, some lessons can only be earned when we experience some emotions. Whether the emotion is negative or positive it plays a part in shaping who we are.

Emotions are messages to us from our subconscious (my thinking). Especially because we may be through a similar situation but catch different emotions. So, whatever emotion you feel pay attention to what it is trying to teach lest you experience it again.

Here are a few roles of sadness to watch out for.

Helps build emotional resilience – The world is a cruel place, and as long as we live, we will most definitely experience frustrations that will lead to sadness. This feeling lets us know that things will happen to us, but we have to move on emotionally.

Helps Improve communication – Sadness aids communication, especially when you can explain what made you sad.

Improves judgment.

Teaches us to appreciate the gift of life.