Sadness

The second emotion we look at is sadness. One of the four main emotions that we will all experience at some point or another in our lives. I was once asked what was the difference between sadness and depression. I explained that sadness required you to vacuum the carpets and depression required you to rip out the carpet and renew. Sadness often lasts only a short time, momentarily or a few days. It is grief and in Chinese it is described in their dictionary as soreness as it hurts and brings an emotional pain to our lives. It can also be applied to regret when we see someone for example leave our lives or if we fail to secure an job appointment that we had yearned for.

Unlike depression sadness is not usually treated medically, it is unusual to go to the Doctor because you feel sad. Often a Doctor may ask you only because sadness prolonged is the station before depression. Annoyingly of course will be when people say to you ‘ don’t worry ‘ , ‘it will be alright ‘ , ‘ you’ll get over it ‘. Sadness is an emotion best experienced and we of course learn from that as it become a comparable to that emotion of happiness , which we look at in due course.

We do mistakingly believe that people who live alone are sad which is absolutely wrong as many love their own company and though loneliness is an increasingly big issue it is different to sadness. Loneliness is felt on ones own whilst sadness can be when you’re surrounded by many and alone.

The obvious time that we can experience sadness is at a time of grief yet we can take comfort in our memories and for those that believe the reunion to come. There is Seasonal Affective Disorder ( SAD ) , a recognised Medical disorder of low mood often referred to as winter depression when short daylight days create the low that won’t go. Looking on the bright side, sad creates the ideal conditions to recognise happiness that other upside emotion to next be addressed. Without the dark we will not recognise the light. As Leonard Cohen said it’s the cracks in our lives that allows the light to get in.