Everybody has sad days. You, your mom, your best friend, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, everyone. Here are a few tips and reminders for those days when you just feel sad.
Cry it out
Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself when you’re sad is to just let it out. Find a comfort place, whether that be your bed, your car, or the shower, and cry to your heart’s content. Crying not only lets you fully feel your sadness, but it also has a lot of health benefits. Emotional tears contains stress hormones and other toxins. So when you cry, you’re literally flushing out all of the badness. Crying also helps to regulate your emotions and breathing, allowing you to feel better afterwards.
Do something monotonous
Often when we are sad we are also experiencing other emotions, such as anger, frustration, confusion, and so on. So doing something monotonous helps you sit with your thoughts can help you sort out your feelings and reflect on why you’re sad. You could go on a walk, take a shower, go for a drive, anything that distracts your body and free your mind to process what it needs to.
lean on your friends
Don’t be afraid to turn to your friends for support. They want to help you feel better, and they will be there as a shoulder to cry on or someone to listen to your problems. No man (or woman!) is an island. There is always someone there who will listen and help, whether that be a friend, parent, counselor, professor, etc. You are not alone in your sadness. Don’t forget that <3.
distract yourself
A sure-fire way of getting through a sad day is to fill it with things that you enjoy. Put on a comfort movie or show, grab your favorite treat or pint of Ben & Jerry’s, and don your comfiest clothes. You could also turn to the arts like painting or reading to soothe your sadness. Exercise is also a great way to both relieve and distract yourself from negative emotions. While distracting yourself with activities, you can also listen to music that can either lift your spirits or comfort and validate you in your sadness. You could even make yourself a playlist that you use when you’re sad.
remember that it gets better. it does.
Your season of sadness is not eternal. We will wax and wane through ups and downs. With every down, an up is just around the corner. So remember that this feeling will end. Sooner or later you will be so happy you can’t fathom your sadness, as though it is a faint memory you can only just recall. And you will be sad again. And it will hurt, but it will fade just as before. Nobody likes to be sad, but sadness is just as valuable and important as any other emotion. We cannot truly feel the joys of happiness without first understanding the pains of sadness.
references
Marcin, A. (2017, April 14). 9 benefits of crying and why it’s good and when to get help. Healthline. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-crying