The best way to deal with a moment of sadness is to accept it and try to understand it. We have every right, from time to time, to be sad and live these moments as if they were the most normal thing in the world, without them hitting us too violently.
Last update: April 17, 2020
How you decide to deal with sadness depends heavily on your personal attitude. Many times, the fact that a problem grows out of all proportion, or on the contrary diminishes, depends on our predisposition to deal with it.
We live in a historical period that seeks to banish sadness, in which the most widespread general feeling is that we should always be well. We are invited to smile all the time, to be optimistic and at peace with ourselves. After all, we all know that it is impossible and inadequate. Each of us will have to face sadness at a given moment.
The philosophy of optimism must not become a tyranny, this is the first aspect to consider when you are not going through a positive moment. When that happens, we don't have to blame ourselves or think we have a problem.
Sadness is one of the vibrations that prove we are alive.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry-
Bad mood, sadness and depression
Anyone who suffers from time to time a moment of bad mood. We all go through moments when things get difficult and don't go the way we would like, just as there are moments of fatigue, disillusionment and hatred. Nobody manages to lead a life so perfect that they never have a dark moment.
Indeed, there is more. Life is made up of losses and broken dreams, of situations that cause deep sadness. Many times this normal state of mind is perceived as depression. People tend to feel depressed when, in reality, they are just sad.
Clinical depression is a far more complex and permanent state than a simple moment of sadness or suffering. To be able to talk about depression, a precise symptomatology must appear that must last a relatively long period of time and produce an important and negative alteration in the quality of life of those who suffer from it.
Coping with sadness
It is important to face sadness before it "takes hold". Rather than overcome it, the basic objective is to understand it. To do this, the first step is to admit that we are going through a bad time and give ourselves permission to be sad. Next, we can follow these recommendations:
- Listen to yourself. It means letting all the ideas that cross our minds and the emotions they provoke emerge. Admitting that we feel sad and trying to understand what our sadness is made up of.
- Speak, write. Saying what you feel aloud or writing it down helps tidy up your ideas. Externalizing is one of the indispensable steps in dealing with sadness. A practical example? Telling the emotions you feel in front of a tape recorder and then listening to yourself again.
- Finding the real reasons behind the sadness. Sometimes we are in a bad mood for specific reasons, but sometimes we struggle to understand exactly why we feel that way. It is always very important to ask ourselves what is really behind our sadness.
- Ask yourself a question. What can I do to get better right now? The answer to this question will give us a clue to work on to deal with sadness.
Other aspects to consider
It is very important not to judge yourself or be hard on yourself. We don't have to force ourselves to stop feeling sad if we really are. What we can do is put a limit on this state of mind. Facing sadness does not mean eliminating it, but confine it and prevent it from growing.
Another effective measure to deal with sadness is to take care of ourselves. This means pampering ourselves, eating something we like or dedicating a moment to an activity that comforts us or makes us feel good. Likewise, we need to stop thinking about all the reasons that make us sad.
In the face of sadness, it's always a good idea to take a break. Exercise, from this point of view, is a great option. Just go out for a walk in an area of ​​the city that we like. Likewise, it is important to eat well and stay hydrated. This will definitely help you feel better.
The most important thing, however, is to be able to express what you are feeling. If we feel like crying, we cry. If we fail to externalize our feelings, art is an excellent practice to convey our mood. Paint, sing and dance. These are all great ways to bring out what you really feel and start dealing with sadness.
