This Is Why It’s Good To Like Sadness

The surprising benefits of sadness that no one’s talking about

Photo by Matthew Henry from Burst

It would seem sadness — really everything labelled negative — isn’t healthy. Of course we don’t like sad movies with sad endings.

But sadness as an emotion is much more constructive than we may think.

Sadness is said to increase empathy, compassion, connectedness, moral and aesthetic sensibility, and artistic creativity.

This can be hard to believe when all of society’s pushing the happiness agenda 24–7. On social media, everyone tends to post positive experiences, such as graduation, a trip abroad or having fun with friends.

“Image marketing” adds pressure.

There’s apparel with sayings like “Good Vibes Only,” and memes with happiness quotes like “Choose Happy.” People don’t want to be seen as a “downer” or a “negative person,” which means we keep our sadness to ourselves — or even from ourselves.

Sadness comes across as unproductive. Where does it get us? Happiness is what we all want out of life. It’s thought of as highly elusive. To get it takes time and effort. That’s part of why it’s so attractive.

Broadly, sadness is a telling sign of what we need. It is an integral component of our makeup as human beings — that is, as social beings.

Sadness is the emotion that can most often elicit empathy and care from others…Crying and expressing discomfort or pain is the first way we all learn to communicate our needs for care and support from the environment.

It’s been shown that sadness can actually boost memory. Because sadness makes us more in touch with our feelings, we’re able to better recognize faces and what they’re communicating.

Similarly, judgment is also enhanced with sadness. Reading cues from others isn’t a totally objective process.

The “Fundamental Attribution Error” is defined as a “cognitive bias to assume that a person’s actions depend on what ‘kind’ of person that person is rather than on the social and environmental forces that influence the person.”

So we’re prone to believe that behavior is determined by whom we think a person is, ignoring situational factors.

The “Halo Effect” is another cognitive bias where our general impression of a person influences our opinion of their character and specific qualities.

For instance, if our impression is, “She’s pretty!”, we’re more likely to then follow that up with, “She’s intelligent!”

If you’re physically appealing, sociable or nice, you have a greater chance of being perceived as a good guy or a charming girl.

When you’re sad, most of this goes out the window. You’re more careful compared to when you’re in a happy state, because being happy can lead to overly trusting in familiarity and too often giving the benefit of the doubt.

All in all, it’s fair to say that sadness heightens awareness, both of oneself and of the world around us.

As long as sadness doesn’t turn into depression, it can serve as a tool.

Sadness provides perspective, allowing us to place more value on things that bring happiness. Sadness softens us towards those around us so that we’re in a position to comfort and really understand.

Most of all, sadness is relative. Without it, happiness doesn’t exist, at least not in a way that lets us be appreciative of it.