When is sadness not a good thing?

Life isn't all happiness and sunshine. There are days, for whatever reason, that you just don't feel happy. You deal with it and hope tomorrow is a better day. Sadness is necessary sometimes. It makes you stop and appreciate what is good in your life and it also can make you reflect upon your feelings.

You can even get stuck in a period, maybe after a break-up, where you feel like you will never be happy again. Even this can be normal. One day, the sun will shine again and the sadness you felt will have melted away. Then there is the sadness that does not go away.

Is it sadness or something more serious?

We can get so busy living our lives that we may look the other way to someone's depression or even our own. It takes time to notice that something is off in the behavior of someone else. When a friend experiences something in life that normally can cause sadness, such as a death, job loss, a serious illness or financial setback, you expect them to be sad.

When the sadness progresses and doesn't get better and the person's behavior totally changes; it may be time to worry. Everyone experiences grief in a different way. It takes time for people to process and how they return or accept their new normal may not be the same as the way you handle life.

You do not need to be a mental health professional to know when a friend or family member is in "trouble" and in need of some kind of intervention.

They may have isolated themselves from friends. Perhaps they have started acting in ways that are totally uncharacteristic for them. Drinking too much, being late for work or appointments, disregard for personal hygiene or maybe angry outbursts that are out of character.

Would you suggest psychological help to a friend who seems to be in need of professional advice?

No comments:

Post a Comment