Benefit of sadness: is it true?

As all we are humans, we experience several types of emotion every day. Some of them are comfortable: joy, loveliness, excitement, and happiness. In contrast, we are occasionally attacked by bad emotions.

Negative emotions such as sadness, fear, anger, and pain are unwelcome. But they are unavoidable in our life. In recent years, some researchers are eager to evaluate these emotions focusing their positive effects.

The Conversation: Why bad moods are good for you: the surprising benefits of sadness

According to the author of this article above, people in sad mood often have good performance in anticipating and communicating in some situations. I have heard a similar anecdote. Some people were encouraged to play a game. The result of each game was determined completely by chance. Participants in a depressive state could recognize that their effort to win the game was no use. But participants in normal mood misunderstood that they had won the game by their skills.

Thus, negative emotions often help us to make a deliberate decision. In contrast, people in an elevated mood are likely to make a bold decision. It sometimes results in a miserable failure. Many successful executives call themselves as a timid administrator.

As well as sadness, anger and fear are also productive in some situations. If your child is in danger, you should become angry to save your child's life with any compensation, according to the author of this book below.

Amazon.com: The Upside of Your Dark Side

Considering these ideas, negative emotions are neither to be avoided, nor to be ignored. The author criticizes the current tendency of wanting to eliminate any negative emotions in the US.

Their claim seems rational. For example, you may feel extremely sad after the death of your sweetheart. But, how do you feel if your doctor recommends you to take antidepressants then? Are you happy if the pill erases your sadness completely?

The answer, however, depends on the magnitude or your grief. Some people commit suicide after a sad event. Even if I understand the agony of the person, I never accept the decision of taking his or her life.

In my opinion, there is a difference between natural sadness and pathological sadness. And the latter should be subjected to medical care. It is often difficult to distinguish them. Therefore, we should be cautious to deem the emotion as unhealthy. In real, people consulting a counselor are treated as a client. So, we provide medical care for them.