Gray days, when sadness is disguised as tiredness

Sometimes we feel out of tune, wrapped in a daily life of gray and white, empty and meaningless. When they ask us what’s wrong we say we’re tired, just that and nothing more. However, beneath that exhaustion without form or reason lies sadness, that ashen friend that settles without permission in the mind and heart to inoculate us with apathy and meditation.

Let’s admit it, we have all experienced this same situation at some point. When fatigue is added to that sticky, languid and deep emotion such as sadness, one does not hesitate at times to go to “Doctor Google” in search of a possible diagnosis. Terms like “depression,” “anemia,” “hypothyroidism,” etc. immediately appear.

When sadness settles in us, we instantly conceive it as something wrong, as something pathological from which we can instantly free ourselves. like someone shaking off dust or dirt from their clothes. We don’t like it and we want to defend ourselves from it without even stopping to understand its anatomy, to delve into its melancholic recesses to acquire a much deeper learning about ourselves.

In fact, we sometimes forget that Sadness is not a disorder, sadness and depression are not the same. As long as this emotion does not last over time and does not continuously interfere with our lifestyle, we have a good opportunity, however paradoxical it may beto advance and grow as people.

We are always tired, but beneath that tiredness there may be something more

Sometimes we go through times like this, those in which we go to bed tired and wake up the same way. We can go to the doctor, and yet the tests will tell us that there is no hormonal imbalance, no iron deficiency or any other pathology of organic origin. It is very possible that the health professional will tell us that perhaps it is the change of season, a small dysthymia typical of autumn or spring. Something very mild and that can be resolved with specific and time-limited pharmacological treatment.

However, There are emotional states that do not require the help of pharmacopoeia at all to be resolved. However, when experiencing its psychosomatic impact on our body, it is normal for us to get scared, and we make the mistake of treating the symptom without first addressing the focus of the problem: sadness.

Why do we feel tired when we are sad?

The brain mechanisms that govern our emotional states are quite different from each other.. While joy or effusiveness originate a whole series of connections and hyperactivity in our cells and brain regions, sadness is much more austere and prefers to economize on resources. However, he does it for a very specific purpose. Let’s see them in detail.

It is also interesting to know that The structure that assumes control in our brain is the amygdalabut be careful, only a part of it, specifically, the right part. This small brain region is what gives us that feeling of withdrawal, of inactivity, of physical fatigue… All this drop in energy has an end in itself: encourage introspection.

Likewise, states of sadness reduce our ability to pay attention to all those external stimuli that surround us. This is so for a more than obvious reason: The brain tries to tell us that it is time to stop and think, to reflect on certain aspects of our life.

Things we should learn about these occasional states associated with sadness

Occasional sadness, the kind that embraces us for a few days and makes us feel tired, sad and disconnected from our reality, is something that we cannot ignore. Treating the symptoms, resolving our fatigue with vitamins or our headache with painkillers is of no use if we do not get to the true root of the problem.

If not, If we don’t stop and pay attention to what bothers us, bothers us, or worries us, it is possible that the ball will get bigger and the sadness will become more extensive.. Therefore, it may be useful for us to reflect on a series of dimensions about this emotion that will undoubtedly clarify some small details for us.

Three “virtues” about sadness that we must understand

Sadness is a warning. We pointed out before, the loss of energy, being tired and lacking mental resources to function on a daily basis are just symptoms of an obvious problem that we must solve.Sadness as a result of detachment. Sometimes, our own brain is already warning us of something that our conscious mind cannot fully accept: “it’s time to leave that relationship”, “that goal you have in mind is not going to be met”, “you are not happy in that job, you are burning out, you are being violated: maybe you should leave it”…Sadness as a self-preservation instinct. This information is curious and we must remember it: Sometimes sadness invites us to “hibernate”, to temporarily disconnect from our reality to conserve resources.… It is something common when, for example, we suffer a disappointment, where it will always be healthier to reflect for a few days in intimate meditation in order to safeguard our self-esteem, our integrity…

To conclude, as we can see, There are times in our lives where fatigue is little physical and much emotional.. Far from seeing sadness as a disorder to be treated, we must see it as an internal voice to listen to, as a valuable and useful emotion that is essential for the growth of the human being.

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