How can we combat unhappiness?
Sadness is an emotion that we all feel at one point or another in our lives.
A feeling of melancholy, depression, anger and despair are just some of the feelings that characterize sadness and unhappiness.
But why is it that we feel sad? Why do we suddenly begin to feel this way? Sadness can’t be explained by any one factor alone. There isn’t any single cause for sadness; Also there are many factors involved in making us feel down.
There are 3 hypotheses as to why people become sad: 2 theories were proposed by clinical psychologists (Lazarus, 1966; Smith & Lazarus, 1993) and the 3rd theory was given by Professor Thomas Joiner (2005). The first theory stated that sadness is a result of a loss. The loss can be an object or a person. Losses such as the death of a loved one, losing something you love damage to property and personal injury can all make you feel sad.
The second theory suggests that sadness is not only caused by a loss but also by our beliefs about those losses. If we don’t think that we can cope without that lost loved one then we may begin to feel sad again. We need to realize that there are many reasons why people don’t always stick around and they often have nothing to do with us personally. This will help us learn how to get on with our lives without constantly thinking about what’s lacking within them (Segal et al., 2010).
Joiner stated in his third theory that the cause of sadness is a lack of belonging. We all need to be needed and to belong somewhere, whether it’s a sports team, a club at school, or a workplace.
Joiner stated that if we can control these 3 things then we will feel happier:
1- Having a place where you belong
2- Belonging with other people who share your beliefs
3- Being aware that this isn’t going to last forever (Joiner, 2005).
Lazarus states in his first hypothesis that some feelings can be caused by something as simple as getting what you wanted whilst others may be brought on by something as complex as losing someone close to you. All of us have been through situations where we have been sad about something. Something that we can’t ignore and has an effect on who we are and how we live our lives (Segal et al., 2010).
I am afraid that when I tell people who are close to me about my fears they won’t support me. Can you help? Reply by simply saying “Yes, it’s okay to be scared but there are ways in which you can combat this feeling of fear.”
Why are some people unhappy when they seem to have everything they could need or want? Reply by saying that no one is truly happy with what he/she has in life and that everyone wants more. We all experience our own hardships in life but we must learn to overcome these difficulties in order for us to progress in the future (The Happiness Handbook, 2014).
I feel like I will never be happy again and that I will always be sad. What must I do? Reply by saying “It’s okay to feel the way you do now but you need to be realistic in your thinking. If you can remember what has made you happy before then look for those things now.”
So, as we can see sadness is a feeling that we all experience from time to time. There are many different reasons why this occurs. We need to learn how to deal with unhappiness and stop them from consuming us. So we may live our life happily once more.
That was a wonderful article. I think the main point is that it doesn’t matter what makes someone sad. As long as they can figure out how to get through those times and move on. Also, even though some people have more trouble dealing with unhappiness than others. We all go through periods of sadness from time to time. It’s important to be able to acknowledge these feelings and just know that they will pass.
Conclusion:
It is difficult to understand why we feel sad because there isn’t one definite answer that defines sadness. However, some of the theories do give us a plausible explanation as to why people get this way. We all go through things in life that may cause us to have unhappiness? but anyone can control the state they’re in by looking at what’s good about their situation. And by trying to find ways of coping with it. If you need any help then talk to anybody, anybody! We need companionship and friendship in order for us to move forward and function properly in society (Joiner, 2005).