How does your soul react to Sadness?

Sadness is a sense of loss of something or someone or empathy for another’s loss. 

Sadness is not depression. Sadness, an instinctive, universal emotion is filtered through your soul, that part of you that consists of your unique experiences, character, beliefs, thoughts and feelings. Sadness in your soul can affect your thinking, your empathy levels, your behaviors, and in some cases the health of your body. 

It can be triggered by real or imaginary events, like a film or sad music.  Sadness at loss can take many forms, the end of a relationship, the death of a loved one, the end of an era, empathy for another’s loss. 

In society today, there is pressure to avoid sadness, a focus on always being happy. Yet, sadness is an instinctive and natural emotion, which we will all feel at some point and is intertwined in your soul in the following ways.  

Sadness is universal but soul sadness is unique to some 

Sadness at loss or someone else’s loss can touch your soul. The grief is immediate, palpable and with a reason. You can see some people who seem happy with functioning lives and yet see the sadness of their soul in their eyes. The soul, that part of you that consists of your unique character, experiences, thoughts and feelings, which some believe may be eternal, could still be carrying a sad experience. Generally, this is termed ‘soul sadness’, a form of disconnect between your inner feelings and your present day situation. Some people experience more life tragedies than others, be it death of a loved one before their time, loss of connections or life situations. Sometimes, the sadness remains. 

Sadness is not depression 

Sadness is not depression. Everyday frustrations, loss of a loved one, life balance, financial difficulties can cause you to have worrying thoughts and to feel sad, perhaps temporarily depressed. When you feel extended periods of sadness, for weeks on end, with no particular stressors from your life, it is best to consult a professional. 

The arts can take your soul to sadness 

Sadness is not always triggered by an event in our life. The instinctive emotion can arise within you simply by listening to a sad song, or watching a sad film. Sometimes, it can be a cathartic experience. Other times, the stories of the songs or film may touch on the residing sadness in your soul, your unique experiences, character and feelings.

Tears from others can trigger sadness in your soul 

When you see someone else cry, it often triggers your mind to think empathetic thoughts. The experiences in your own soul can heighten your levels of empathy.  Emotions are contagious. Seeing someone sad can also make you think about sad things. 

Sadness in your soul can affect the concentration in your mind 

Like many negative emotions, such as anger, sadness can dominate your mind. As you find yourself in emotional turmoil, your mind can find it difficult to concentrate on other thoughts. Carrying sadness in your soul, possibly because you have not had a chance to grieve, can affect your concentration in the present moment. 

Soul sadness can affect your behaviour and your body 

Loss, instigating sadness is often accompanied by worrying thoughts. Sometimes the emotional pain is unbearable, and people adopt avoidance or coping strategies through food, alcohol, sport, or even drugs, which in turn, can lead to physical problems in your body.  

Sadness can eat your soul  

According to Wikepedia, the five stages of grief were introduced by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying. These include denial, then frustration and anger, then bargaining, then depression and finally acceptance. Other psychiatrists had worked on similar models in the 1940s. Kübler-Ross originally saw these stages as a reflection of how people cope with illness and dying. She later noted that the stages are not a linear and predictable progression. Out of this thinking, grief experts have emerged who offer counsel and support on how to grieve. 

The intensity with which you feel sadness is a very personal thing and the rituals and ways to deal with it vary with your belief systems and cultures in which you live. For example, some mourning rituals focus on releasing the sadness around a death by staying at home for a week whereas others prefer to ‘lift the spirits’ with a celebratory memorial service. The forty days, from the Bible, can be seen in rituals across various different societies. Today, in Western society, people have become more and more focused on the Eastern belief from Buddhism of ‘mindfulness’, focusing on the present moment and accepting the ‘impermanence’ of emotions. Accepting sadness into your soul and knowing that it will eventually be balanced out with moments of happiness can be a first step to coping with life’s ups and downs and finding emotional balance. Not recognising or processing sadness can eat into your soul, affecting your beliefs, your later life experiences. 

Instinctive emotions are like the weather, beyond your conscious control. For a balanced life, the first step is to understand human instinctive emotions, how they work and practical steps to take in order to avoid situations that are destructive to emotional wellbeing. Not every instinctive emotion that is acted on has positive consequences. Sometimes, it may be best to take shelter from the storm. Sadness is one of the negative emotions. It is human and yet in society, it is often ignored and very difficult to express to others. Pretending that sadness doesn’t exist or ignoring others with sadness is ignoring your humanity. Once sadness is acknowledged and processed, it is easier to move on in life’s journey accepting that sadness, like a rainstorm or other instinctive emotions with help is a more realistic approach to emotional well-being. Joy might not be far behind.