Why do we need encouragement that it is actually OK to feel Sad? Because there can be a lot of pressure to give the illusion that we feel fine all the time. But this is not real. Sadness is an indicator of something. It may be showing that you care very deeply for someone, and your tenderness of heart is causing you to feel sad at their distress. It may be that something deeply painful has happened to you and you are processing that grief. It may be that you care about more than just yourself, and so when you see disheartening news you are affected.
Sadness is different than depression. Depression is like a heavy and suffocating blanket that you cannot shift off from your shoulders. Depression is something for you to seek help with, and there is no shame in seeking that help.
But sadness is a normal human emotion, and to deny it, you are not expressing the whole of your heart. You do not have to stay in sadness, but do process through it, and recognise why it is there, so that you can come out the other side into a more joyous day.
Stephanie Balke 