I’m sad and angry without knowing why

It often happens to me: I’m sad without really knowing the reason. There are days like this, those where sadness embraces you and traps you. Those where, In addition, a feeling of anger is mixed inexplicable. Which, combined with the taste of apathy and discouragement, clouds and complicates my reality even more. Also, they prevent me from achieving each goal I set for myself…

This feeling may sound familiar to you. What’s more, most of us would give anything for those gray days to never appear on our calendar again.We would love, of course, to remove the sadness from our lives forever. like someone picking up a brush to remove dust or lint from their favorite coat.

Why does this phenomenon occur?

We have been taught since childhood that there are positive and negative emotions. The latter, such as anger, rage or sadness, must be hidden, avoided or, what is worse, engulfed in a kind of unhealthy and unpedagogical practice. A habit that is making us sick, with the promise that in exchange for pretending that everything is going well we will look better to the outside.

However, nothing goes well, and If there are days when I am sad and angry, there must be a reason why.. Every emotion serves a purpose. This biological component chemically orchestrated in our brain has a very clear function, which is none other than to facilitate our adaptation, our survival in each of the scenarios where we move daily.

Sadness, for example, alerts us that something is happening and that our obligation is to stop, slow down and encourage adequate introspection to make decisions. There are therefore no “negative emotions”, all of them fulfill an objective that we must know and assume.. Let’s delve into this topic below.

I’m sad and angry, what’s wrong with me?

There is a very common reality that most psychologists encounter in their consultations: There are people who are surprised to receive a diagnosis of depression. Patients who were completely sure that what they had been carrying for months was simple sadness.

Other people, for their part, go to a therapist or even to primary care consultations asking for treatment for depression, when What they experience is just a clear intolerance to accept emotions such as sadness, anger or frustration.. These types of realities undoubtedly represent a real problem that forces us, once again, to remember the importance of education in emotions.

Likewise, something that we cannot leave aside is that There are those who simply cannot tolerate states of sadness. An emotion, which as such is “normative” and even necessary for our personal development and our capacity for daily improvement, is not always well accepted and even less understood. Therefore, it is necessary that we know the difference between sadness and depression, as well as the practical usefulness of the former.

The characteristics of sadness and its purpose

We will start by defining sadness. Something that we must consider first is that it is a normal emotion and as such, we must tolerate it and delve into it. On the other hand, a second detail that should be remembered is that sadness, like anger, always has a trigger, a reason. Something that often does not happen in depression.

Sadness is also a very live emotion. This term may surprise us but beyond what we can believe Its objective is to help us feel strong, vital and brave in the face of life’s adversities.. Sadness “forces us to stop and focus” and therefore, it is common to feel more tired, slower, less receptive to what surrounds us. This emotion, as well as anger, demands that we take a moment away from the outside world. to navigate our self and know what is happening, what bothers us, what hurts us, what makes us angry…

I’m sad, what if what I have is depression?

We cannot rule out in any case that what is gripping us could be depression. Hence, it is necessary to know its symptoms, its features and the nuances of these psychological abysses. Thus, Before making strange assumptions on our part when “I’m sad”, it never hurts to go to a professional.

However, let’s take into account some basic characteristics that will help us differentiate it from simple sadness.

While sadness is a normal and functional emotion, Depression is completely dysfunctional and impacts all areas of our lives.Likewise, it is not always necessary for “something to have happened” to develop a depressive disorder. Most of the time there are no triggersIn fact, there are patients with an apparently perfect life, and despite this, they cannot help but feel devastated. The feeling of exhaustion, discomfort and negativity is something constant, almost chronic.Life stops having interestyou do not experience pleasure with anything. Sleep problems appear: insomnia or hypersomnia. Negative thoughts are constant, however, the feeling of guilt also appearsOn the other hand, in these very exhausting states The appearance of ideas associated with suicide can be added.

Every time we face a new day with that feeling, that “I’m sad and I do not know why“, we have a clear obligation to ourselves ourselves: dedicate time and attention to ourselves, understand that every emotion has a purpose. If we do not find it, if what we experience is helplessness and the inability to take responsibility for ourselves, it will be necessary to ask for psychological help.

You might be interested…