What to do when you feel sad? Indeed, we often feel helpless when sad or upset. It falls on us and we don’t know what to do with it.
Sadness can appear out of nowhere, the reason might be the loss of someone special, a heartbreaking breakup or any particular difficult time.
“All emotions are important to experience because they provide us with valuable information about our lives,” says Dr. Lori Rockmore, Psy.D. According to a 2017 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, “individuals who accept rather than judge their mental experiences may achieve better psychological health, in part because acceptance helps them experience fewer negative emotions in response to stressors.”
When sadness strikes, we are frequently helpless. We don’t know what to do to improve.
So we dwell on and feed our sadness more than anything else.
Today, I am trying to put my view on this question: “What to do when you are sad? “
I suggest 20 things to test to find a soft smile, when you feel sad.
1. Read a Book
Read a book when you feel sad, Reading is one of the best stress relievers in the world. In fact, it only takes 6 minutes of reading to reduce stress by 60%. Why? Because as we read, our breathing becomes calmer and deeper, our thoughts subside, and our attention is focused on one thing: the words in front of our eyes.
Reading is not only a great way to escape from stressful thoughts, but it is also a great way to deal with sadness.
Indeed, when we are sad, we tend to rehash our sad thoughts, and we thus lock ourselves in a vicious circle. In other words, when you are sad, take a book and read for —20 minutes. Let your sadness fly away.
2. Write in a journal
Writing soothes, it alleviates the heart and the mind of worries. Indeed, while we write what runs in our head, what weighs on our heart, we shed it.
Writing a journal soothes and alleviates the heart and mind of worries. Indeed, while we write about what runs through our heads and what weighs on our hearts, we shed it.
So next time when you’re feeling down, grab a piece of paper and a pencil, or open your notebook, and write for 15-20 minutes without stopping to see the magic.
3. Cooking
We don’t know what to do when we’re sad, so we wander around the house or curl up on the couch. However, this is how sadness tightens its grip on us.
So, what should you do?
Cooking is a great idea because it allows our minds to calm down and even fall silent while our hands are busy. As a result, they stop rehashing and feeding our sadness. In other words, our sadness dissipates after a while of cooking.
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4. Walking
As in the case of the cooking, here it is not our hands that are busy, but our feet. Walking calms our thoughts. Indeed, they let themselves be lulled by the rhythm of our steps. In addition, we can focus on what we see, hear, and smell, and we can listen to ourselves breathe and feel our chest rise. So, while we are focused on our 5 senses, we no longer listen to our thoughts that rehash our sadness.
5. Exercise
If we don’t want to go for a walk or are unable to go for a walk, why not let off steam by exercising? When we are sad, it is beneficial to focus on our bodily sensations because this allows us to stop paying attention to our thoughts, and prevent us from feeling sad.
6. Meditate
Sit quietly in a quiet and comfortable location. Being face to face with yourselves and your sadness.
The goal is to look at ourselves and our sad thoughts with compassion. Allow them to pass quietly. You can also meditation music.
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7. Gardening
When you’re sad, there’s nothing better than getting out in nature. So put on something comfortable and go to your garden. Nature should be touched, smelled, and looked at.
8. Try something new
When we are sad, it is essential to distract ourselves from our thoughts full of sadness, and what could be better than trying something new? Indeed, it will totally grab your attention and calm your thoughts.
Furthermore, you will feel good, even proud, of having tried something new. As a result, sadness will have less of an impact on you.
9. Call a friend
Calling a friend to give news, tell what is going on, and listen to their news rather than dwell on what makes you sad.
In fact, being interested in someone other than yourself, especially in times of sadness, allows us to distance ourselves from our sadness. Afterwards, we feel lighter.
10. Clean or tidy
When we’re sad, we don’t always understand what’s going on. Yes, it’s a bit of a jumble in our heads.
The best way to deal with this is to tidy up and clean your home. Indeed, when we clean our house, we also clean our minds.
11. Play with your pet
Sadness sometimes invites us to curl up and not move. Unfortunately, our thoughts are multiplying and becoming painful. So, instead of rehashing, let’s move on. So, its a good idea to play with our pets when we are sad. Allow his joy to contaminate you, keeping the sadness at bay.
12. Ask someone for hug
Sadness pushes us to loneliness, to withdrawing into ourselves. However, there is a magic cure for sadness, and it is hugs from the people you love. So when you’re sad, let’s ask for a hug and let your sadness melt away with this warm loving contact.
13. Watch funny videos
Laughter is one of the most effective antidotes to sadness. But, strangely, we don’t always consider it. So, when you’re feeling down, remember to laugh by watching funny videos.
14. Listen music to cry
Sometimes laughing is not what you need the most. We do, in fact, need to cry from time to time. So, if the tears won’t come out, listen to music that has this power over you and let your tears flow, carrying your sadness with them.
15. Listen music to dance
When you’re sad, you have to do whatever it takes. So put on your favorite music and just dance. Allow the simple joy of moving to lift your spirits.
16. Watch your favourite movie
Too often, we don’t watch our favourite movies because we tell ourselves we don’t have time for them. So, when you’re sad, let’s say it’s just the right time for it.
17. Start a book of sweet quotes
Sometimes when we’re sad, we just need a few sweet words to cheer our hearts. This is why I invite you to start a book of sweet quotes.
18. Buy your favourite pastry
Gluttony has the ability to deflect sadness, so let us take advantage of it! Allow yourself to go out and buy your favorite pastry, savoring it with your eyes, nose, hands, mouth, and, most importantly, your heart.
19. Sit in nature and listen to birdsong or gaze at the sky.
When we are sad, we feel isolated from the rest of the world. That is why, at such times, it is important to remember that we are part of something much larger than we can imagine. For that, sit outside and gaze at the vast and awe-inspiring sky.
20. Start a new goal that makes you happy
When you’re feeling a bit down, sometimes you just need to embark on a new adventure and set a new goal for yourself. A goal with no serious implications, a goal that simply makes us happy.
So, what do you think regarding this? What makes you happy when you feel a little upset?
I guess most of us are suffering from the same situation, the modern life we are trying to live, has ruined all our happiness. You have shared great tips to follow when upset.
Just to add call mom or sister ♥♥
Wow!! Really this should be the point first.❤
Very beautiful composition. Very cool tips that will help figure this out.
Wonderful post. Reading or writing always helps me a lot whenever I feel sad or upset. I really liked the point of music to cry. Quite often, we listen to upbeat songs but not just we need to feel good , we also need to let those sad emotions go out of our system. And if music can do that then why not.
Wow great suggestions. Well when I feel sad I think of good old times and by default start cleaning up things as that declutters my mind and is relaxing.
Wow lovely suggestions Anjali. yes, being sad is normal human emotion and we all suffer from this time to time. writing and spending time in nature works best for me. it helps me relieving stress and uplifted my mood.
These are way too many interesting activities to divert your mind or distract your mind. Anyone can kill his/her sadness with these activities.
These are some really cool ideas. I usually read book, watch funny videos or talk to a friend whenever I feel sad .
Beautiful recommendations, all twenty of them worthy enough to help us get out of our sadness depending upon one’s interests.
I so needed ideas for this because I always take a book in hand and they’ve been my solace whenever I’m down
I would add reading this post to the list. What a powerful post. The tips that you have given are indeed reminders about how we can find happiness in silly things.
When I am sad I usually sleep as it helps me when I wake up. But these are very good tips, especially journaling. Writing down has helped in many ways.
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Sadness and happiness are two sides of the same coin. No one can completely escape sadness, but eventually one develops their own coping mechanism. Some turn to reading or writing while others turn to work out, and so on.
I do 2 things when I feel sad. 1st I move out of the place where I started experiencing sadness and 2nd I seat in front of my house Temple and continously speak my heart out to God till the time i feel relaxed
I do 2 things when I feel sad. 1st I move out of the place where I started experiencing sadness and 2nd I seat in front of my house Temple and continously speak my heart out to God till the time i feel relaxed. But ur points are good too
I can so relate to this. Cooking, listening to music, sometimes even taking a nap, makes me come out of my nasty mood. These days, I prefer cleaning. It’s therapeutic. Love your tips.
Hahaha i do none of the above. I just cry and then sleep it off. When i wake up I’m all okay and fine. And ignore the thoughts like nothing happened. But these are great ideas to keep sadness and sad thoughts away. Artwork instead of cooking anyday for me!
Such great points of Self-Care. Sadness are very much related to failures if we think about it and it’s about changing your mindset about it that would make a difference. Life isn’t all about being happy and getting what we want. It’s this times in your life where you are able to learn more, and rise higher than what you’ve been before. So embracing this moments in life is also important.
Listening music, exercising, walking, journaling, meditation are few things I love to do whenever I am little upset. Thank you for giving so many other amazing options.
I often feel alone or depressed at times. Thank you for these tips. My usual go-to is reading a book. I will inculcate other tips as well.
Point 9, that is calling a friend is important. Why because, being sad occasionally not a problem, it’s very humane to feel sad sometimes. More important is how you deal with it. Today’s world when population has soared up to sky, most of us are unfortunately alone. So make Friends, stay friends, keep in touch with relatives. Be available for them, and that’s how we keep the humanity alive. Happiness and sorrows are to be shared amongst the friends, neighbours, colleagues, relatives, siblings. We should not forget that human evolved from millions of years due to socialising.
Yes, you are right, but we need to understand this..connect or talk with the person who gives positive energy or good vibes.