How do you, personally, treat sadness?

[rainbow.sprinkles]

sadness is a wonderful bonding tool. I recommend watching the newish pixar movie Inside Out to get some wonderful perspective on the emotion of sadness in particular, and emotions in general.

[Dwerg]

I do the only natural thing, I cry and treat myself compassionately by comforting and supporting myself.

Feeling it entirely is the only way to truly make it fade, at least for a while.

[Rah nam]

Stay with it, feel it and when you are ready let it go.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by Fleur de Frost

Do you feel it entirely and all-consuming until it fades - or do you combat it with an onset of positive energy? What works better for you? Or is there one set 'cure' that works for everyone?

Thank you! :)

First one.

The underlying 'error' as I see it is the notion of 'cure'. I understand no one wants to feel sad and everyone wants to feel happy, but the real lived experience has all sorts of emotions, and that's life. 'Cure' implies saddness is an adverse experience that can be avoided (a popular notion in psychology and spiritual self-help literature). On the other hand 'all-consumed' seems to refer to being overwhelmed, like one is so swept away by emotion that they forget themselves entirely.

I think the tricky bit is being with feelings in all their intensity yet not becoming swept off, and I probably call that balance or stability or equanimity, which involves being present momentarily while all this stuff is going on. The principle is, this too shall pass, no feeling lasts forever, and be being at peace with feelings they come and go passing more freely. This not only brings freer movement to what inevitably passes; it also brings about acknowledgment of the presence that remains enduring while everything else is changing.

[nammyoho]

Depends on the source.
Sometimes it feels good to sit with it.
Sometimes it feels good to remind myself of every sweet thing in chronological order.
Sometimes it feels good to distract myself by thinking of every character to ever exist on Friends.

[CrystalSong]

Originally Posted by Fleur de Frost

Do you feel it entirely and all-consuming until it fades - or do you combat it with an onset of positive energy? What works better for you? Or is there one set 'cure' that works for everyone?

Thank you! :)

For me personally....
Go into it, allow it, feel it in all it's nuances, understand it....
then look for the core belief system which it stems from.
Determine if that core belief system is actually me or representative of what I desire to be.
It's going to have a base line root of one of two things - Fear or Love.
If it's fear root it out like weed, if it's Love water it like a flower
Either way I land on 'an onset of positive energy'. For fear can't sustain it's self in that environment and love flourishes in it.


(For me I must find the truth of it first though, for drenching it in positive energy first is a form of denial and escapism. The thing must be understood, THEN brought into the Light)

:)

[Belle]

Originally Posted by David F

But not all the time.

YOu shouldn't be miserable all the time.

What ever the source, just don't think about it, if possible.

One thing that makes me sad is people who don't read my posts fully and pick up on something that was not said.

Sigh.

[sky]

Sadness can be a lesson that teaches us impermanence.

[loopylucid]

With open arms and a warm heart. I let it consume my entirety if it needs to, I cry until my eyes are swollen, in deep sadness I become rhythmic, often rocking, I let it completely exhaust everything it has through me, I often watch the sadness in a mirror, see my facial expression, watch how it manifests and changes my appearance, it becomes very physical, I begin to look at it with a loving heart then, with a flood of compassion, i feel myself be cushioned whilst i experience it and most importantly through all midsts of it, i let myself know this is natural, this is beautiful, this is ok, embrace you, honour you, love that reflection in the mirror right now more than ever, treat your pain as you would treat a friend going through it, with loving understanding, with open arms and heart.

Through all this i know, i will get through it, even when my head is banging on like a child having a tantrum, i observe it with a smiling reassurance, my heart speaks to me clearly through sadness whilst my head and my emotions are allowed the greatest of unconditional spaces to be expressed.
When i feel a wave of quiet draw upon me, i check again, is there more? There usually is, often i would feel that first wave and think it was done, but by going in deeper to check, there would usually be a few more tears waiting, but they were more peaceful releases.

Watching myself in sadness, actually seeing my reflection, it became like i could communicate with it, with its more naieve symptoms or expressions, and begin to share with it a deeper understanding.

I honour my sadness, my pain and fear, as much as i do my love, because where before i considered it a sign of weakness, a sign i couldn't cope or would never get through it, i now realise the greatest pain in sadness isn't the sadness itself, its in the resistances, of trying to find a reason, to not feel sad atall.
I hope i feel sad many more times in my life, along with the loving, i always want to know compassion for others and for myself. I want to know all the loving designs and some of the greatest loves i have known, were and are still, as one with my sadness.


Loopy

[7luminaries]

Originally Posted by rainbow.sprinkles

sadness is a wonderful bonding tool. I recommend watching the newish pixar movie Inside Out to get some wonderful perspective on the emotion of sadness in particular, and emotions in general.

Agreed! Sadness was my fave. Great pic.