What is sadness and how can you get rid of it yourself?

October 6, 2018
Depressive states
Ahi Svetlana

In a recent experiment, scientists were able to determine how long a person experiences certain emotions. It turned out that sadness is the longest lasting of all emotions. Studies have shown that people are 240 times more sad than they are happy in life. And to get rid of sadness, a person needs about 120 hours. Let's find out why a person is sad and how you can cope with this emotion.

What is sadness in simple words

In simple terms, sadness is a negative emotional state of a person. This emotion manifests itself in connection with an unsuccessful outcome of events and can be associated with various situations experienced by a person at some point in time.

However, while in a sad state, many people are able to use this feeling for creative purposes. As you know, people find inspiration when they are in a rich emotional state, so sadness is no exception.

When a person is sad, he begins to think about what is happening, asks himself questions and tries to understand what triggered the chain of events that make him sad.

Thus, a creatively developed person has an irresistible desire to convey his feelings. Depending on skills and abilities, everyone conveys emotions in their own way: Writers write sad stories, poets create poems, artists write corresponding paintings, musicians create musical works.

Even though sadness is a negative emotion, it can bear many fruits. In addition to inspiration, a person in such a state can reconsider his attitude towards life, which ultimately leads to dramatic changes in personality and his own life.

Try to use your emotional state to your advantage. If you are sad, don't get upset and just sit and do nothing. The feeling of sadness greatly stimulates a person to change something within himself, think about what is happening and make the right decision.

Tip five: watch your thoughts

When we are depressed, we become hostage to automatic negative thoughts. They only seem true, but in reality they are false beliefs. Let's look at a few common thinking pitfalls.

All or nothing. You cannot reach your friend and declare: “Nobody needs me.” Or you quarrel with your loved one and accuse him of “never listening to you.” Obviously this is not the case.

Mind reading. Your friend responded dryly to the greeting, and now you have been tormented for the third day, trying to understand how you offended him. Sound familiar? So, this is a completely pointless activity: you are not a telepath and are unlikely to guess what is going on in someone else’s head. Most likely, you have nothing to do with it at all. Maybe this person is just tired or has just been told off by their boss.

Catastrophization. You made a small mistake in the report, and your brain is already drawing gloomy pictures: dismissal, fruitless search for a new job, homeless, poor old age and lonely death under a bridge. Agree, all this is too unlikely.

During depression, we see everything through a negative filter. Source

Labeling. It is common for a person with depression to stigmatize themselves. Get rid of this habit. Failure at the last competition does not turn you into a “loser”. Your child's illness does not make you an "irresponsible mother." If you haven't been able to figure something out yet at your new job, it doesn't mean you're a “stupid”.

To overcome depression, you need to change the way you think that is eating you up from the inside. The next time you start labeling yourself, predicting all sorts of horrors, or reading other people's thoughts, remind yourself that these are just distortions of perception.

Where does sadness come from?

Sadness is a human emotion that signals a lack of positive feelings, or the satisfaction of individual needs. When we don’t get the desired result or we are no longer satisfied with the conditions in which we find ourselves. In any case, everyone has their own reasons to be sad.

As a rule, people cannot remain in a state of sadness for a long time. It is worth understanding that this emotion is caused in order to indicate to a person the absence of positive factors. This means that it is necessary to make a certain decision that will help get out of this sad state. Just think about how you can influence upcoming events:

Choose a goal for yourself;
what result do you want to get;
Will you be able to accomplish what you set out to do;
Take action.

Think about what you would like to receive right now. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a large-scale event or a simple desire to eat pizza. The main thing is to set a goal and achieve it. But to prevent sadness from returning, you need to set new goals.

The main causes of sadness

As we have already found out, sadness is a negative emotion that appears as a result of a lack of satisfaction or the unattainability of specific situations at a certain period of life. To answer the question: Why am I sad?

It is worth understanding that any emotion is associated with the experience of some event. Therefore, finding out the cause of sadness will not be difficult. Since the feeling of sadness is a short-term phenomenon and arises as a result of recent events

It is necessary to understand this issue. Find out the reason for this state of mind. Sadness can be caused by the following situations:

Conflict . Any quarrel provokes the appearance of aggression and anger, which means that a person loses control over himself and can make many mistakes. After a conflict, sadness always sets in from what was done.
Resentment towards someone . If a loved one insults you or says something unpleasant, then a strong feeling of resentment makes us more pressed, constrained, withdrawn into ourselves, and in this state we begin to feel sad.
Loneliness . When you are alone with yourself, sad thoughts appear on their own. When there is no one around it is very sad, so it is better to find something to do for yourself or get rid of loneliness as soon as possible.
Bad moments in life . By making some mistakes, we may not get the desired result. And disappointment from unfulfilled circumstances causes a feeling of sadness.

It is worth understanding that if you do not quickly get rid of a sad state, this can lead to depression or other psychological disorders.

Depression

It feels like a feeling of constant depression that arises out of nowhere. It does not depend on the weather, day of the week, or surrounding environment. The trigger may be severe stress or a traumatic event, but the reaction to this does not appear immediately. Depression lasts a long time - not one or two days, but weeks, months and even years.

In addition to worsening mood, sleep disturbances, problems with appetite, causeless weight loss, decreased libido and decreased concentration are observed. There is a constant feeling of fatigue, it becomes more difficult to take care of yourself, work and communicate even with those closest to you.

Who is often sad?

It is worth understanding that sadness is a short-term emotion. It often occurs when a person is alone. As a rule, people do not feel sad together, so if you want to get rid of sadness, you can distract yourself and talk to relatives or friends.

A heartfelt conversation always helps to dispel sadness. The main thing is that your interlocutor is discreet and can listen to you. If this does not happen, then most likely you will not be able to get rid of the sad state. But you should also understand that you should also be attentive and feel a sense of gratitude to the person who is nearby at such a moment

Sadness is a completely common state for any person. People who feel sad most often are more emotional.

Their nervous system is more sensitive, resulting in an increased level of empathy;
They take even the most insignificant problems or situations seriously, and as a result of empathy they begin to feel sad;
They take longer to come out of this state.

Sadness makes it possible to consider current events in more detail and teaches us to accept negative consequences. This condition can occur for various reasons, for example, when a person is sad about something that has not come true. In situations in which he regrets something that has already ended or never began.

Generalized anxiety disorder

The patient experiences constant causeless anxiety, which can also last for a long time in the background. There is muscle tension, insomnia, rapid heartbeat and sweating, and often shortness of breath.

The disorder can be confused with depression. But there is a difference: with depression, a person wakes up exhausted and becomes more active in the evening, and with an anxiety disorder, the patient starts the day calmly, but stress gradually accumulates, and well-being worsens.

Why are people sad

Sadness can arise for various reasons. These may be biological factors or a certain psychological state. In order not to have to waste time looking for the causes and problems associated with mood changes, you need to take care of your own health and improve the quality of your life.

It is worth understanding that people who suffer from chronic diseases or do not get the necessary vitamins are more susceptible to sadness. Our emotional state directly depends on the physical state of the body.

A healthy lifestyle promotes the release of various hormones that improve well-being and also lead to changes in mood. Thus, we get enough energy to lead a full life.

Proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are very helpful in coping with sadness. If you spend a lot of time in the office, or sit at home a lot, then you need to think about walking in the fresh air. It's very calming and helps you to be positive.

How to get rid of sadness

In some cases, it is enough to put your diet in order and get enough sleep to quickly get rid of sadness. It is worth understanding that the body has certain natural needs that must be satisfied.

Therefore, when we don't get what we need, we trigger the development of sadness. And this, in turn, causes stress or depression. It is better to immediately take the necessary actions that are necessary for the emergence of joy, so that the situation does not worsen and develop into a psychological disorder.

Try to get out into the fresh air more. Evening walks in the park have a beneficial effect on the human body, calm the nervous system, and also allow you to think about the past day and make the necessary decisions.

How to overcome mild sadness

People all over the world experience mild sadness every day, it comes from overexertion after a grueling job or after a minor stressful situation. This feeling alerts us to exhaustion on a psychological level.

In order to prevent such sensations, it is necessary to monitor your health and maintain the correct processes of the body. The more endorphins enter the body, the more likely it is to feel emotions of joy and prevent mild sadness.

The best cure for sadness is exercise. By doing simple exercises every day, you will improve your health and get the energy boost you need. By taking care of your physical health, you will not have time to be sad. In addition, it is worth providing your body with a sufficient amount of essential vitamins and microelements.

To increase the level of endorphins in the body, it is necessary to perform physical activity daily, as well as use relaxation methods:

Walks in the open air;
Morning work-out;
Healthy eating;
Doing what you love;
Listening to soothing music.

All this helps to improve the general condition of a person, improves mood, and also normalizes the emotional state.

Simple ways to overcome sadness

Very often doing something helps to overcome the state of sadness. Often people start to feel sad when they have nothing to do, so one of the most effective ways is to do what you love.

This can be absolutely any activity that will help you take your mind off thoughts. For example, start cleaning your apartment or yard; for women, an effective way to overcome sadness is to cook a delicious meal, go shopping and buy yourself a gift, and so on.

This lifestyle will leave no room for sadness. In addition, you will be able to spend time with benefit for yourself, as well as the people around you. In this way, you can distract yourself from sad thoughts and lift your own mood.

Another useful way to get rid of sadness is to take a warm bath. By the way, there are various herbs and aromatic oils that can be added to water. They impart a pleasant aroma and have a relaxing effect on the body.

The pleasant sensations of taking a bath will provide you with positive thoughts. The relaxing effect will calm the nervous system and sadness will soon disappear. You will be in a good mood and gain strength to fulfill your plans.

Warm chamomile tea is also very soothing. When you are very sad, you can consume some chocolate, it is the most famous source of joy and happiness.

What else can you do if you're sad?

When sadness does not go away, you can use any of the proposed methods, to do this, think about what can calm you down at a given moment in time, for example, you can do the following:

If you are in a closed space for a long time, it makes you sad. As soon as you feel bad, go out into the fresh air and take a walk;
What to do when you're sad? Of course, listen to your favorite songs. Each person has their own special track list that will help them survive any emotional state. Listening to good music will help you stop feeling sad faster;
For computer game lovers, playing your favorite game is the best way to get rid of sadness;
You can get creative. Any art requires special involvement. Creating works of art is a long process during which you will definitely not be sad;
Watching comedies or science fiction films will help get rid of boredom and greatly distract from all everyday problems and disturbing thoughts.
Girls can pay more attention to their feminine needs. For example, go to a beauty salon and get beautiful. An updated appearance always makes you happy and relieves you of sad thoughts.

If any of the proposed methods does not help cope with sadness or helps for a short period of time, then you should turn to specialists.

If standard methods do not help to cope with a sad state, then you can try turning to traditional healers or fortune tellers. These people have knowledge that is inaccessible to ordinary people. In this unconventional way you can quickly get rid of sadness and find out your destiny in one go

Many people believe in the power of the evil eye or various love spells. Only people with special knowledge can help in this matter: healers, fortune tellers, mediums. In any case, it is necessary to understand the psychological reason for the sad state.

Tip seven: replenish your “bank account”

Think of your mental energy as a bank account. Then everything you do during the day can be divided into two categories: income and expenses.

Expenses are, for example, morning preparations, work, household chores... Income is laughter, reading, food, movement, sleep. If you are overtaken by depression, you need not only to spend your resources more economically, but also to replenish your account more often. There are many ways to restore energy balance. Here are a few of them.

Physical activity. Exercise stimulates the production of serotonin, norepinephrine and endorphin, helps reduce anxiety, and has a positive effect on sleep quality. Of course, during depression it can be difficult to even just get out of bed. But if you are still able to move, move. And it is not at all necessary to train for several hours in the fitness room; even a ten-minute walk to the store will benefit you.

Research shows that aerobic exercise such as swimming, dancing, running or walking has antidepressant effects. Source

Warm bath. Helps relieve stress a little, relaxes and improves mood at the end of a hard day.

Meditation. Relieves symptoms of depression, helps reduce anxiety, achieve a state of peace, harmony and concentration. True, for meditation to work, you need to do it every day. And one more thing: in some conditions (prepsychotic) it can provoke deterioration.

Communication with those who recharge your battery. Usually during depression we do not seek social contacts. However, we still need support. We suggest this strategy: limit communication with people who seem to suck the energy out of you, but leave around you those with whom you feel good and who can support you morally (by the way, these are not always friends or family). Communication in an online group where people share their ways of coping with depression can also bring relief.

Read more about what depression is and how to get out of it in our new product “Out of Depression”