It’s OK to Feel Sad

Feeling sad sometimes is OK. Life is made up of moments, they can’t all be happy and they’re certainly not all perfect. But feeling sad and crying all the time is not OK.

You need to learn to recognise when sadness has turned to depression. You might wake up, feel tired, not want to get out of bed, turn over and cry. This isn’t ok and you shouldn’t consistently feel like that.

Understanding and allowing a range of emotions is a huge part of growth. Being in the moment and feeling the emotion that goes with it is ok. You don’t have to push sadness or negative emotions away. Life would be terribly dull if we didn’t feel the ups and downs.

I’m sat here now feeling a bit sad. Nothing has happened, no one has upset me. I just feel a bit low and that’s ok. I’ll sit here and listen to some Einaudi and just let whatever comes up come up… there I already know what it is… I’m tired of being lonely, Mr Darcy is clearly also locked down!

Feeling emotions is very important. If you push them aside or don’t allow yourself to feel them you’ll make yourself ill. Anger will fester, sadness will grow, irritability will continue. Feel your negative emotions, observe them, label them, make a note that you need to do something about them. Move forward. Respond to them rather than reacting to them.

If you’re feeling a bit sad, do a guided mediation on allowing emotion. The Calm app has a few. Then pick yourself up, brush yourself off and do something that will make you feel happy. Put in your favourite song, cook yourself some lovely food, go for a walk, do some exercise, get outside, or cosy up under a blanket and watch Bridget Jones, whatever works for you.

I’m going to stick Pride and Prejudice on, stuff my face with chocolate and drink chamomile tea. Rock on Saturday night… I hope yours is more exciting!