Sadness, like happiness is a part of human life. When we feel sad it is okay to embrace and feel the sadness the way we do with happiness. Contrary to what television and the general media has sold to us, you don’t have to be happy all the time. In fact, it is not normal to be happy all the time.
The problem with sadness is that an excess of it does no good for our physical and mental health. When you’ve been sad for a while you want to check in with yourself to make sure that the sadness isn’t from everyday factors that you can fix. My therapist recently shared a simple tip to check the source of sadness. She said when you are feeling sad or overwhelmed you should check in with your body and your emotions using H.A.L.T
H- Hungry
Are you hungry? Or have you eaten healthy foods? We often underestimate the effect of good food in our lives. Check in to make sure you have eaten, and not just junk, but green and healthy meals. Foods like avocados, eggs, dark chocolate and ice-cream helps to shake off sadness.
A-Angry
You’ve checked if you have eaten, but are you angry about something? A lot of us don’t deal with our emotions we tend to shrug them off but emotions like anger don’t just go away, it remains gnawing at your insides. Check if you are angry and if it is something you can resolve, then resolve it. If not, then acknowledge your anger. Recently I found out most of my anger came from social media (twitter) so I deleted the app.
L- Lonely
Loneliness is another serious issue we often overlook as a society. Loneliness is real and it is difficult for those who are feeling alone. When you are sad check in if you are feeling lonely. Again, acknowledge your loneliness and if you can, fix it by joining friendship groups and finding a community of people with similar interests as you
T- Tired
As we gradually move towards the last quarter of what has been a surprisingly scary year, many of us are looking at the goals we set at the start of the year and trying to, like my friend said, “achieve something this year.” This need to achieve, or simply to keep up with the demands of our professional and personal lives makes us feel overwhelmingly tired. When you become too tired you become sad. Like they say on social media, “problems no dey finish, try to relax.” Take a deep breath, take a nap during the day, go to bed early, don’t turn on your laptop all weekend. Rest.