|  | Conditions Treatments | Depression

Biological Purpose of Sadness

Allan Horwitz and Jerome Wakefield ask a very good question in their book "The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow into Depressive Disorder": "What if sadness is good for you?"

  1. Do We Live In An Overmedicated Society?

    • In 2005, data showed that 10% of Americans---that's 27 million---were using antidepressant medication, which is double the amount in 1996.

    Sorrow May Be Genetic

    • Horwitz and Wakefield suggest that "loss responses are part of our biological heritage," that sorrow is genetic and can be useful for attracting sympathy and social support, such as when a baby cries to get attention.

    Sadness Can Help Us Make Better Decisions

    • Often we suffer emotional pain so that we learn to avoid certain behaviors and make better choices in life. When something doesn't work for us, we're likely to try to do it differently the next time around.

    Tears Can Keep Us Safe

    • Researchers at the University of South Florida say that "it is possible that crying is both an arousing distress signal and a means to restore psychological and physiological balance." The fact that skin sensitivity increases during and after crying and breathing deepens supports this theory.

    Crying is Good for You

    • Almost everyone feels better after a cry---but it may even keep us alive. William Frey, author of "Crying: The Mystery of Tears," further points out, "Because unalleviated stress can increase our risk for heart attack and damage certain areas of our brain, the human ability to cry has survival value."

Depression - Related Articles