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Facts About Sadness

Sadness is just one of the many natural emotions humans are capable of feeling. Some artists channel feelings of sadness into works that are remembered through the ages. The author, Victor Hugo, once described "the pleasure of being sad." For other people, sadness can be a symptom of depression, a clinical condition where the person is unable to pinpoint a reason for her feelings and finds it difficult to function over long periods of time. The important thing to remember is that sadness is neither good nor bad, merely a part of a natural reaction to certain circumstances.

  1. Evolution

    • Humans share a common ancestry with chimpanzees, who also appear mournful when life events do not favor them. According to Dylan Evans, an evolutionary psychologist quoted in The Times, the ability for humans to feel sad is part of their evolution. "People don't have to learn to be sad; blind people who have never seen faces produce the same facial expressions," he says. "Just like other basic emotions, such as happiness, fear and disgust, sadness has all the hallmarks of an adaptation."

    Time Scale

    • Everyone gets sad at some point in their lives. This may be due to loss and separation, changes, disappointments and relationship problems. According to the Kids' Health website, more than 50 percent of teenagers experience a period of sadness at least once a month. Women who are pregnant or who have recently given birth may experience a period of sadness. According to one Mexican study of 1,134 women, there were 21 cases of reported sadness.

    Sex

    • Rather than feelings of fulfillment, the act of sex may lead to feelings of sadness. According to an Australian study cited by the Mail Online website, 10 percent of young women surveyed admitted that they frequently or almost always felt sad after sex. One in three admitted that they had felt sad after making love at some point in their lives. The study's author, Robert Schweitzer, says that normally the period after sex is associated with sensations of well-being and relaxation. "However," he says "individuals who experience post-coital dysphoria, or sadness after sex, may express their immediate feelings after sexual intercourse in terms of melancholy, tearfulness, anxiety, irritability or feeling of restlessness."

    Shopping

    • According to a study cited by the Health Library website, inward-looking people who feel sad are willing to pay more for an item than their emotionally neutral counterparts. "It is the combination of sadness and self-focus that drives the effect, and it turns out that sadness leads to an increase in self-focus," said Cynthia Cryder, co-author to the study from Carnegie Mellon University.

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