How to Control Sadness

Everyone experiences sadness from time to time, and you need to find your own way to manage and cope with such emotions. Rather than trying to block out negative emotions, acknowledge them and follow key principles and steps to deal with them directly. You already have the inner resources to manage your emotions, but when sadness becomes too much, health professionals exist to help you cope.

Instructions

• 1

  Accept your sadness. Feelings of shame or inadequacy have no place in successfully managing your sadness and other emotions. It's OK to feel sad.

• 2

  Keep up with a normal, healthy routine. Healthy eating and physical activity can have a positive effect your emotions, but poor eating and lack of physical activity can contribute to negative feelings and even depression.

• 3

  Identify the reasons for your sadness. Emotional awareness provides the key to dealing with negative feelings, such as sadness.

• 4

  Spend time talking about the reasons for your sadness with another person. You'll often find the reasons don't stand up under logical analysis. Addressing your fears and anxieties head on can make you feel better about them.

• 5

  Express and confront your feelings directly by writing them down. Record your emotions in a journal to get them "outside" of you, or write a letter to a deceased loved one you miss.

• 6

  Engage in an activity that helps you to feel calm, relaxed and content. Turn to it whenever you feel overwhelmed by sadness. For some people, that activity may be music, a walk in the fresh air, a hobby or a spiritual practice, such as prayer or meditation.

• 7

  See your family doctor if sadness becomes persistent or overwhelming, or if it starts to interfere seriously with your everyday life. If she diagnoses you as depressive, she might recommend professional counseling or medication.