Page 23 - North State Parent June 2020

Why Our Children Need to Feel Sadness to Experience Joy
our feelings or when we watch a sad movie and more serious long-term depression. Depression is a mood disorder that can be debilitating and may need to be treated with therapy and medication. Also, experts are not recommending that we induce sadness but rather accept the natural sadness that we feel during the ups and downs of daily life.
Benefits of Sadness
Scientists have found many benefits to sadness. According to the video "A Brief History of Melancholy," sadness helps us gain wisdom and allows us to under- stand deep emotions like awe and joy more profoundly. Psychology Today explains that sadness is useful be- cause it alerts us to how we should treat ourselves and how we want to be treated by others.
It is also important to understand and accept that sadness is an inevitable and essential part of life. Many people spend their lives striving to be happy as much as possible instead of accepting and embracing other, less enjoyable emotions. Unfortunately, many cultures do not encourage or embrace sadness. We are told that we should work hard to smile and be as happy as pos- sible. Because of these cultural forces, many people are uneasy watching others be sad and are not sure how to react. Furthermore, sadness is often masked by anger and irritation when it is not accepted.
This message of understanding why we need sad- ness is communicated in my all-time favorite children's movie, “Inside Out.” This movie creatively explains how our emotions work, and the importance of emotions like joy, sadness, fear and anger. The most touching moment of the film is when we learn the lesson that we need sad- ness in our life to appreciate and feel joy.
Helps Us Appreciate the Good
We need to feel sadness to fully appreciate the positive, joyful moments that we experience. If we were always happy, that would become the norm, and our emotions would plateau. In a sense, we would be- come numb if we only felt happiness. Sadness serves as a contrast to happiness and makes the happy moments even more special. Feeling sad is certainly not fun, but if we look at it as simply a moment in time, then we un- derstand how it plays such a critical role in our overall well-being.
Sadness can also allow us to take a step back and be grateful for what we have. It provides a way for us to switch our train of thought to appreciate all the good in our lives. It ultimately helps us see what really matters in life, such as kindness, love, compassion, family and friends.
Deepens Our Connection to Others
Throughout history, crying and other expressions of sadness have been used as a way for people to ex- press their suffering so that they can ultimately build social bonds with others in their family and community. Sadness gives us the capacity to open up to others so that they can help us. It gives others a chance to offer comfort and care, which is a human need. It also helps us to recognize when other people seem sad so that we can offer our support to them in their time of need.
Increases Motivation
Finally, sadness serves as a way of motivating us to address a challenge we are facing. When we are happy and satisfied, we can just keep plugging along without feeling motivated and wanting to move forward to achieve new things. Ironically, sadness can trigger us to make changes that will allow us to achieve our goals more effectively.
One study tested this theory by showing partici- pants either happy or sad films and then asking them to do a demanding cognitive task. Researchers found that participants who were happy spent less time, at- tempted fewer items, and scored fewer correct answers than those in a negative mood who made more effort and achieved better results. Therefore, a sad mood may increase people's determination as they see greater po- tential benefits of making an effort.
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SLOW DOWN
LIVES CAN BE SAVED BY REDUCING SPEEDS AND DRIVING WITH CAUTION.
Speed limits can be reduced in construction zones across California’s
highways to 55mph or less.
Slow down
Leave the phone alone Be above being distracted Focus on driving
Respect the cone zone
#beourpartnerinSAFETY
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