WHY ARE YOU SAD? 6 PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS - ARTE - 2024

Why are you sad? There can be several causes, although they can generally be divided into two: internal or external. Endogenous (internal) depression is caused by changes in the levels of neurotransmitters (serotonin) in the brain. Exogenous or reactive depression is the cause of external events - such as the death of a family member.

It can also be called melancholy, grief, nostalgia, grief, grief, discouragement, desolution, emptiness, misery, etc. All these expressions refer to feeling sad, whether due to loss, lack of luck, feeling that life has no meaning or for other reasons.

The first thing you should know about sadness

Sadness is an emotion and it is normal that you want to overcome it, since it is an unpleasant state, it decreases your energy and also usually worsens relationships with others.

Depending on the cause that causes it, it will last more or less time although normally they are due to a specific fact and it passes over time.

So if you feel sad now, you don't have to worry excessively, because it is actually adaptive; evolution has made us develop this emotion. The ability of human beings to feel sad is part of their evolution.

Imagine that you are locked at home for 2 weeks. Wouldn't it be nice to feel sad to push you to go out and try to socialize or get something? It is therefore a way for the brain to tell you that something is wrong.

When is it a real problem

The biggest mistake you can make when feeling like this is isolating yourself and spending days locked in your house without wanting to relate.

This will cause that sadness to increase and it can develop into a serious mental illness such as depression.

Behaviors like looking at photos of your ex, watching sad movies, listening to sad songs, locking yourself in your room, not going out, etc. will only cause sadness to increase, so try to avoid them.

Another thing that you should not avoid doing in excess is reflecting. As Victor Frankl explains, thinking too much about the reasons for sadness (a breakup, a loss of a loved one, the loss of a job…), does not help to get out of sadness, but rather encourages it.

Be careful, I do not mean that you have to deny that you are sad. You just have to accept that emotion as if it were normal and act. The important thing is that you know that it is a way of the body to tell you that something has happened that hurts you and that you have to act.

Its most frequent causes

One of these things has likely happened to you:

• Loss of health.
• Disease.
• Loss of someone.
• Singleness.
• Losing a job or having a job that you don't like.
• Loneliness.
• Not having children.
• Loss of animal.

The difference with depression

Depression has specific symptoms that define it and that make it different from just feeling sad. It can be said that being sad is normal, but having depression is a much more "powerful" sadness, with other additional symptoms, and is considered a disease to be cured.

Some symptoms are:

• Inability to enjoy leisure activities.
• Inability to do simple activities.
• Irritability, extreme sadness, anxiety.
• Negative thoughts.
• Lack of energy, appetite changes, sleep problems.

Statistics

Now that you know what the differences are between sadness and depression (see symptoms in the previous point), I can tell you some statistics about the latter, so that you realize the importance of preventing it:

• Depression is the world's leading cause of disability and a major contributor to the global burden of disease.
• Depression is a common mental disorder that affects more than 350 million people in the world.
• Depression affects women more than men.

5 practical tips to solve sadness

1-Act

The best way to solve your sadness is to take action. That is, you have to find activities to do and that make you be entertained.

If this activity includes socializing, much better. Examples are: playing sports, going to the movies, taking walks, signing up for courses, meeting friends…

2-Find a reason

Victor Frankl is a psychiatrist who spent a lot of time in a concentration camp. In Man's Search for Meaning, he described how while some people allowed themselves to die or commit suicide, others struggled to survive.

There are many reasons to move on and want to act and overcome sadness:

• Achieve an important goal.
• Your family.
• Help others.
• Be thankful for the luck of having what you have.
• Learn new skills…

3-Give another meaning to your experiences

The experiences have no particular meaning. It all depends on the meaning that you want to give each one.

For example

• If you lose a job you may think that you are a failure and that you will not find a better job. But you can also think that it is an opportunity to find something better, to undertake or to go abroad in search of opportunities.
• If you have suffered abuse, you may think that you are unfortunate and that it will influence the rest of your life. Although you may also think that it is an experience that has helped you to be stronger.
• If you fail an exam, you can interpret it as that you do not have enough intelligence or that failure will make you learn and prepare better the next time.

4-Work your self-esteem

It is possible that you feel sad because you do not like yourself, that is, you have low self-esteem. In this case, you will have to work little by little to improve that perception you have of yourself.

I comment on some of the steps you can take:

• Be aware of your critical voice.
• Do physical exercise: you will improve your appearance.
• Don't seek approval from others.
• Eliminate the "shoulds" or "have to be."

5-do sports

In the first point of this section I have asked you to act, not to stay at home or locked in your room.

Sport is essential for physical and mental well-being. In some studies, it has even been found to be as effective in depression as psychotherapy or medication. Some of its benefits for psychological well-being are:

• Releases endorphins: the hormones of well-being.
• Delays mental deterioration (memory, attention, perception…).
• Improves sexual performance.
• It enhances sleep quality.
• In group sports it allows you to socialize.
• Aerobic activity increases the ability to learn new information and retain it in the long term.
• It can improve memory and attention.
• Increases life expectancy.

6-Go to a therapist

If you have depression, it is a real disease, which in fact has its causes at the brain level. In order to overcome it, it is important to receive help. You can see a cognitive psychology therapist, although you may need help from both a therapist and a psychiatrist.

You can read more of its benefits here.

And you do you think? Why are you sad? What do you do to remedy it? You can comment below. I'm interested. Thank you!