Processing challenging emotions: Sadness

Sadness can be a challenging emotion to process, because it demands a lot from the system. As a result a natural response to sadness is to avoid it, because we want it to disappear as quickly as possible.

Instead of avoiding or denying sadness, we need to learn to process it as an emotion. After all, like all the other emotions sadness is also a thermometer for our mental health, as it provides us with useful feedback regarding our mental wellbeing.

We can learn to process sadness in the following ways:

1. Recognise and acknowledge sadness as an emotion:

Locate it: How do you know that you are sad? For example is your mood low?are you feeling drained?

2. Normalise sadness as an emotion: It is okay to feel sad and it is okay to express sadness. It is also okay to name it and it is okay to cry when you are sad.

3. Identify sadness triggers: Where is it coming from?What you have experienced, seen or heard or what have you been thinking about? How have you been thinking about what you have experienced, seen or heard? Remember your thoughts and interpretations influence your emotions.

4. Rate the level: On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating no sadness, 3 average and 5 being extremely sad, where would you rate your sadness?

5. Determine the frequency and impact: How often have you been feeling sad? and how has it affected your life?

6. Manage sadness: Depending on the level and frequency you can manage sadness by consistently accessing other emotions that will dilute or minimise it to a level that makes you comfortable. We access other emotions through positive interpretations, doing things that are nourishing and good for our souls and spending time talking with supportive and encouraging people.

If you have been feeling too sad and more often, with a negative impact on your functioning this may indicate a need to seek professional help.

Comments

The impact of Stigma on people

Stigma is when we blame, judge, prejudice and discriminate people because of characteristics that they have or situations that they are going through. People are often stigmatised for situations that they already find challenging to deal with and sometimes it is situations they cannot change or have temporarily lost control over (i.e. mental health diagnosis like depression, diagnosis of HIV and people living with disabilities). So when we stigmatise people we place an extra burden on their already difficult journey. The following points highlight the impact of stigma on people. 1. Impact on mental health Stigma results in feelings of isolation, rejection and guilt for people and it can contribute to the development or worsening of mental health challenges like depression and anxiety. 2. Obstacle in help-seeking When we stigmatise people, it becomes more challenging for them to openly seek help because they fear judgement. As a result they either do not seek help at all or i...

Part 2 of Stress Management: Beyond Self-Awareness

When you are aware of how stress affects your thoughts, emotions and behaviors then you are better positioned to manage it. Stress management is also a journey where you learn to manage your life through self-training. In the process be patient with yourself. Below are a few points to consider as you learn to manage your stress: 1. Thought management: We are all wired to think, therefore thinking is a very normal and an important process in our brains. However a challenge happens when we overthink, over-interpret, generalize and personalize situations. This tendency can negatively affect our emotions and behaviors and it can increase our stress levels. Therefore learning to discern and manage our thoughts is important in stress management. Overthinking can be resolved by distracting yourself through engaging in healthy behaviors i.e. writing down your thoughts for a few minutes and closing the diary and engaging in something else, with plans to go back to the diary and writing at ...

On adjusting to working from home during the lockdown

The lockdown period during COVID-19 came with an unexpected and unplanned working from home set-up for some of us. Although this transition was not a planned event, it is possible to manage it well, through implementing the following: Structure It helps to keep a diary, set weekly and daily work goals that are aligned to your work responsibilities. Time and boundaries Allocate time for work activities, breaks and knock off time and strive to keep to your allocated time. Separate time for home activities from work activities, avoid doing home chores during "work time" and vice versa. Time-off from work should be strictly adhered to. Physical Space In your house have a corner or space on your table where you strive to create a work-like set-up that you work from. If you have an office strive to work from the office everyday. Negotiating with family members Many of us share our spaces with family members who also work or study from ...

Dr Sibu Qhogwana

Search This Blog