Understanding Why We Feel Sad

Published: 20 December, 2024 | 9'

Our emotions accompany us throughout our lives and characterise all our experiences. We have all felt sad at times, perhaps due to the loss of a loved one, failing to achieve a work or personal goal, or even out of empathy for someone else who feels this way at a given moment.

It is possible to feel sad and not know the cause, but this feeling of sadness can alter the way we perceive situations and face day-to-day life. Let’s look at what factors can affect our mood and the origin of sadness.

What is sadness?

Sadness is one of the primary emotions alongside joy, fear, surprise, and anger, which we all share as human beings, although we express it differently.

It arises as a reaction to an event or situation that triggers negative feelings, which may be of external origin due to stimuli from our environment, or of internal origin, caused by our own thoughts that are difficult to manage.

On a physiological level, emotions are regulated by the nervous system, specifically, the hormone serotonin plays a key role in regulating mood states. The production of this hormone depends on an essential amino acid in our diet, tryptophan, which is involved in controlling emotional well-being, as well as the sleep cycle, appetite, and other metabolic processes. Thus, feelings of joy and sadness, among other emotions, are regulated by serotonin, which is produced from tryptophan.

Differences between sadness and depression

There are various ways to feel sad, and it manifests with its own symptoms in each person depending on the cause and their personality, but it is a temporary emotion that usually goes away on its own after a few days.

Sadness can appear as part of a grieving process as a normal emotional response to the loss of a loved one, which can last for weeks or months. It can also appear as a symptom associated with chronic stress when dealing with an adverse situation.

This sadness should not be confused with other mood disorders like depression, but it may present as a symptom of some of them. When the feeling of sadness persists over an extended period and interferes with the ability to cope day to day, it may signify a more serious condition like depression, a mood disorder that requires medical attention. In addition to sadness, depression presents other symptoms such as fatigue, loss of interest in daily activities, along with feelings of irritability and restlessness.

The most depressing day of the year or Blue Monday

The term Blue Monday refers to the most depressing day of the year, which is the third Monday in January. This terminology originates from the phrase “to feel blue” in English, which means to feel low or sad.

The Blue Monday concept originated over two decades ago from Cliff Arnall, who calculated through a mathematical formula that this day is the saddest, subsequently modifying it to consider factors like the weather, the economic situation after the Christmas holidays, motivation regarding New Year's resolutions, etc. Although this theory lacks scientific evidence, it has gained popularity as an appealing concept, especially in marketing campaigns.

What is true is that in January, various factors can coincide that may trigger a feeling of sadness, such as returning to work after the holidays and increased stress levels, climatic factors with scarce daylight and low temperatures, and even nutrition, since during festive periods, we tend to consume products like nougat and other sweets high in sugar, which are associated with the production of dopamine in our brain and feelings of well-being, which decrease upon returning to routine.

Causes of sadness

Although the feeling of sadness is a natural part of our emotions, not everyone experiences it in the same way, and many factors influence this reaction. Sadness generally arises from a combination of various psychological, social, and environmental factors.

Psychological factors

Individuals who have experienced some trauma or personal loss early in life tend to be more prone to intense reactions and lasting feelings of sadness in response to a stressor. Additionally, a state of anxiety or depression often results in low mood as an emotional consequence.

Biological factors

Hormonal changes influence our mood state and can induce sadness. For example, during the hormonal changes in a woman's cycle involving oestrogen, progesterone, or testosterone during menopause, menstruation, pregnancy, or postpartum. Elevated levels of cortisol resulting from chronic stress, as well as variations in thyroid gland functioning, can affect mood, triggering a sense of sadness.

Imbalances in neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine are directly related to the modulation of our emotions and behaviour. Thus, low levels of serotonin can cause irritability, difficulty in sleep initiation, and impulsivity, while low dopamine levels often lead to lack of motivation and energy, weeping, and mood conditions like anxiety.

Environmental factors

In the face of a stressor such as high workloads or academic pressure during exam periods, internal emotional regulation processes are activated, which typically manifest as irritability and sadness.

Factors such as climate or seasonal changes can also affect mood, especially in winter, when the lack of sunlight exposure is linked to lower production of vitamin D and serotonin, or at the beginning of good weather with spring fatigue.

Cultural and social factors

Having a support network from both family and friends influences our emotional well-being and our ability to cope with low mood states. Thus, the lack of social connection and emotional support can lead to low self-esteem and feelings of emptiness.

Furthermore, it may also happen that our environment of family and friends is not adequate, with tense relationships, conflicts, people with unhealthy habits, or those who project very high expectations onto us, which can create insecurity, frustration, low self-esteem, and even lead to chronic stress. The lack of resources such as basic services, professional attention, or education significantly impacts mood.

In this context, social pressure increasingly influences our emotions, primarily due to social media, which often encourage comparison with lifestyles that seem superior to our own and generate dissatisfaction, as well as an excessive consumption of information, which can lead to saturation.

Symptoms of sadness

Sadness can have different effects that create an impact on both mental and physical levels, especially if it occurs intensely or lasts for a long time.

Emotional and cognitive changes

When experiencing sadness, it can often hinder attention and concentration on daily tasks, also affecting decision-making ability and impulsivity in them. Moreover, sustained sadness can also lead to feelings of loss of control, decreased self-esteem, and increased irritability.

Notably, crying, which occurs involuntarily as an adaptive response to stress, affects our emotions. Crying has a positive effect as it triggers the release of endorphins and tends to relax the body after a traumatic event.

Physical symptoms: fatigue and changes in appetite

Normally, sadness is an emotion associated with stress, a traumatic event, or a symptom of some other imbalance that has a direct impact on the metabolic processes of our body.

Thus, alongside other symptoms, sleep disturbances may appear, with difficulty in falling asleep or the occurrence of nighttime awakenings, which in turn affects restorative rest and leads to tiredness or fatigue during the day.

A low mood also brings about changes in appetite with fluctuations in weight, and even digestive discomfort. It is also common, particularly during stressful processes, to experience muscle tension primarily in the neck and shoulders, which is typically accompanied by headaches and discomfort in the surrounding area.

Behavioural changes: isolation, loss of interest in activities

The feeling of sadness can have consequences on relationships with friends and family, usually avoiding contact. This firstly complicates the possibility of receiving social support, but it also intensifies the feeling of sadness.

Additionally, it can lead to a loss of interest in activities such as group sports or other solitary pursuits that the affected person used to engage in frequently of their own initiative before experiencing this emotion.

How to manage sadness

Although feeling sad at times is normal and common, as it is part of our emotions in response to certain experiences in our life, there are occasions when a low mood can affect our day-to-day life. There are several recommendations we can adopt to help ensure that this situation does not prolong over time.

Coping strategies

First of all, it is important to identify the emotion and be aware of your feelings. Denial or repression will be counterproductive; it is advisable to accept what you are feeling and express it, as well as to give yourself time and recognise that it will be a temporary state.

Importantly, talking to someone you trust about worries or what is causing us to feel low will always be beneficial, as it helps us articulate the situation we are going through and find comfort in being heard. In more serious cases of grief or where it is prolonged too long, seeking professional help will be more advisable.

It is also beneficial to spend time alone and engage in activities that we enjoy and promote emotional well-being such as reading, listening to music, walking, or exercising.

Relaxation techniques

It is possible to learn how to train the mind in such a way that we can control our emotional reactions with the aim of fostering mental well-being. Incorporating relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga, or breathing exercises is beneficial for both mental and physical health, as it promotes a state of calm and relaxation, concentration, and emotional regulation.

For example, deep breathing reduces heart rate and promotes calmness; it only requires a few minutes a day to sit down, inhale deeply through your nose for 4 seconds, hold the breath for another 4 seconds, and exhale slowly through your mouth for 8 seconds. We can practice this both to start the day calmly and to end it and facilitate rest.

Healthy habits

Engaging in regular physical exercise will promote a good mood due to its effect on our hormones, as it stimulates the production of endocannabinoids, and also influences the regulation of the production of cortisol and melatonin, hormones associated with stress and nightly rest.

Our diet also plays a significant role in emotional regulation, and appetite disturbances or unhealthy eating habits are common when we find ourselves sad, stressed, or in a low mood. In this regard, we can include foods that favour the production of serotonin such as legumes, nuts, oats, or berries, along with others that stimulate the production of dopamine such as seeds, nuts, dark chocolate, or green tea.

Additionally, there are some ingredients that can encourage a proper mood which can be found as dietary supplements such as Rhodiola, which has positive effects on mood, Magnesium which contributes to normal cognitive function, and Ashwagandha which supports optimal mental and cognitive activity and helps with sleep (EFSA ON HOLD 3667,4194), along with others that are precursors to serotonin such as L-tryptophan.

Positive effects of psychological therapy and emotional support

When we feel that the feeling of sadness is getting out of our control and we cannot manage it by ourselves, whether due to its intensity, its prolongation over time, or if it starts to interfere with our quality of life, the best course of action is to seek professional help.

Not everyone manages emotions in the same way, and there are times when that extra help is needed to teach you how to manage sadness and your emotions by yourself.

A professional will accompany you and provide you with the necessary tools to accept those emotions and handle them personally and autonomously, as well as help you feel better.

Talking to someone and expressing how we feel releases that emotional burden, and the professional will guide you in learning to put into perspective the way you perceive conflicts and assign them the appropriate importance. It will also help us to adapt to that situation and correct any beliefs or values that may limit our emotions.

Sadness as an opportunity for personal growth and resilience

All emotions have a function and, although it may seem contradictory, experiencing sadness can become a moment of reflection and serve as an opportunity for personal growth.

Sometimes these transient low mood states prove beneficial as they allow us to dedicate more time to thinking about ourselves and achieving greater understanding. Thus, we can delve into the reasons for their appearance and meditate on how to find tools that encourage moving beyond it.

Sadness has an adaptive function and, like all other emotions, pursues a survival goal since it pushes us to take actions that help us to exit that state and motivate us to change. This represents a learning experience for the future, enabling us to confront similar situations with newfound insight.

In this way, we can face adversities and expand our competencies and capacities to strengthen ourselves.

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References

Content reviewed by specialists from the Scientific Information area of MARNYS. This article is informative and does not replace consulting a specialist.