This fortnight we will discussing our third emotion, sadness.

Previously we have discussed the emotions of anger and fear, and looked at how these emotions have shown up for us, how they feel physically in our body and how we manage them. This fortnight we will be doing the same for the blue section of the wheel.

Sadness is an emotion that we have all felt, and it is essential to our survival. From our time as a child, sadness is there to communicate our distress. As adults, sadness works to let us know that we need to grieve after being hurt and to seek out those who love and support us.

While other “negative emotions,” like fear and anger seem to prepare us for flight, fight, or avoidance, etc - the benefits of sadness can be harder to understand. Sadness is a signal for help or comfort, and can motivate or prompt us to overcome challenges and make choices that improve our life.

Feeling sadness

Sadness is often a result of another feeling, such as anger, stress, anxiety or hopelessness. Sometimes, the other feeling may be so strong that you don’t realise you are sad.

When we think about sadness, ways we might describe it include “I feel depressed”, “I feel hurt”, “I am lonely”, “I feel guilty”, and “I feel broken hearted”. It is important to note, however, that experiencing sadness is different to having depression. Sadness, like other emotions, is temporary and fades away with time.

When we can identify how sadness shows up for us, and some of the signs we might be experiencing sadness, we can take steps to manage the emotion and seek out support that may be helpful for us.

This discussion will talk about themes such as sadness and grief, and topics that could be upsetting or triggering for those reading along. There are questions we have planned ahead of time to keep this conversation safe and constructive, but if at any time you feel distressed, you are welcome to reach out to our peer support or counselling services for additional support.