Sadness And Worry: What You Can Gain From Challenging Emotions

Medically reviewed by April Justice
Updated March 2, 2024by BetterHelp Editorial Team

It can be easy to think of feelings like worry and sorrow as purely bad things, as experiencing them might be unpleasant.However, these unhappy feelings might be important for our wellness. 

Much like physical pain, unpleasant emotions can be a signal that we need to take action to change a dangerous or unhealthy situation. Sadness and worry may also have roles to play in helping us integrate past experiences and prepare for the future. While these feelings can cause problems if they become excessively strong, healthy doses of both might be vital for mental health.

This article will examine some of the possible benefits of sadness and worry. We’ll also explore the possible role of therapy as a moderating agent, supporting many in seeking better mental health. 

Sadness and worry vs. anxiety disorders and depression

Engaging with your sadness and worry can help you grow stronger

Before we discuss the possible value of troubling feelings, we should note that there are times when they can be unhealthy. Mental health professionals can help many to discern between ordinary negative emotions and possible mental health conditions—such as major depressive disorder.

Where can you draw the line? 

Many might take the time to determine how persistent these feelings are. Are your worries crowding out most of your other thoughts and emotions, leaving little room for you to experience joy or focus on what’s in front of you? If so, this could be an indicator that you’re dealing with a symptomatic anxiety disorder. In the same way, if you feel sad most of the day (or almost every day), you could be experiencing a symptom of depression. 

You might also want to ask yourself whether your unhappy emotions are related to something specific. Are you worrying about a specific challenge you’re facing, or do you feel constantly nervous even when you can’t perceive anything wrong? Do you feel sorrow about a recent loss, or does everything in your life seem to be making you sad? 

It can also be worth considering whether your feelings of sadness or worry are making it difficult to live your life. If so, it may be time to reach out to a therapist. “Significant distress or impairment” is an important part of the diagnostic criteria for mood disorders like generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder.

If your sadness and worry aren’t destabilizing your life or dominating your emotional ecosystem, they may not be signs of a mental health condition. However, you still may be wondering how they could possibly benefit you. We’ll explain below. 

Beneficial aspects of sadness and worry

Worry can help you prepare

If sadness is associated with the past, worry might seem to point to the future. For many, it’s a sensation of concern about potential threats or challenges facing us. A healthy amount of nervousness, in this context, might prompt someone to make appropriate preparations for their future.

In some cases, this can have life-saving effects. However, unhelpful kinds of worrying might decrease one‘s preparedness over time. Online therapy can be helpful for many as they work to determine what kind of worry they might be experiencing. 

Sorrow may aid personal growth

There’s also some evidence that sadness may be helpful in processing past experiences. A study of patients undergoing therapy for a wide range of personal difficulties examined the relationship between subjective mood and therapeutic outcomes. Data found suggests that when participants felt a mix of sadness about past difficulties and happiness about their progress, they were more likely to show improvements in well-being later. The effects of mingled happiness and sadness were clinically greater than either emotion on its own.

These findings have led many to conclude that feeling sorrow about the difficult times you’ve been through may be an important part of the healing process. It may even enhance your ability to feel happiness in the future. The authors of the study concluded that a blend of positive and negative emotions can be an important part of psychological health. 

Worrying now might make you happier later

Just as grieving for the past might help you process it better, worrying about the future might make you feel happier when it arrives. An article published in the journal Social and Personality Psychology Compass noted that worry can serve as an “emotional buffer” that enhances your feelings of well-being when things turn out okay. For example: Succeeding at a personal goal might make you even happier if you were worried about failure.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you should dwell on feelings of worry in hopes of a payoff later. However, it does suggest that emotional lows can have their place in helping you achieve satisfaction in life.

Sadness and worry can help you understand yourself

As we noted earlier, sadness can be a trigger for self-reflection, encouraging you to think more deeply about yourself. It may also be an important source of knowledge about your own preferences and values. 

Have you ever felt sad without knowing why? 

Thinking it through and following your sadness to its source may reveal something about yourself you weren’t aware of before. For example: Being sad when someone in your life is away might show you that you feel stronger affection toward them than you realized. Or a sense of sorrow at a beautiful piece of art might uncover an unfulfilled creative urge.

Sadness can be a source of connection

Sharing the burden of suffering can be an important part of what holds human beings together. Many recent studies suggest that undergoing painful experiences together increases performance on cooperation-based tests.

As a result, experiencing sadness with other people may bring you closer together. This can be true, whether you’re commiserating with a close friend or participating in large group grieving rituals. 

Sadness and worry can motivate change

Feeling anxious or sad may also be important for recognizing when something is wrong in your life. Just as feeling pain and heat can let you know you’ve gotten too close to a campfire, worry and sadness can signal that you’re in a situation that needs to change. 

Many people might remain in unhealthy relationships, depressing jobs or unsafe living situations far longer than they should. Or they may simply procrastinate on working toward their goals for the future. Becoming aware of their persistent sadness or worry may be the push they need to take action and improve their lives. 

Learn to embrace negative feelings

None of what we’ve said above is generally regarded as an argument for someone to not be working toward happiness. However, it does suggest that there may be value in acknowledging, accepting and honoring feelings of distress. Instead of trying to push away unhappy feelings— which may only lead to mental and physical health problems—you may be better off finding constructive ways to engage with them. 

Techniques like conscious acceptance, mindfulness, journaling and artistic expression may help you give space to your feelings of sadness and worry without letting them overwhelm you. Talking them through with others may help as well. 

Therapy for emotional engagement

If your emotions are particularly challenging, discussing them with an online therapist may make it easier to express them in a healthy way. A trained mental health professional can often suggest helpful methods for processing what you’re feeling and finding the positive side of negative emotions. 

If you’re not sure how to get started with therapy, online platforms can offer a fast and convenient way to find therapists with a wide range of expertise. The remote nature of online therapy may also help you feel more comfortable talking through difficult feelings.

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Engaging with your sadness and worry can help you grow stronger

Is online therapy effective? 

Internet-based therapy has demonstrated its effectiveness in numerous clinical trials. A recent article published in Psychiatry has found that talking with a therapist online provided as much benefit as in-person therapy across all studied age groups (ranging from teens to seniors). Connecting with a mental health professional online could be a helpful way for you to start working through your sadness and worry.

Takeaway

Unpleasant feelings can serve a wide variety of psychological functions, from sharpening cognition to motivating action. Research suggests that sadness could be vital to learning the lessons of the past, while worry might be necessary for planning ahead effectively. If you’re experiencing strong negative emotions, discussing them with a therapist could provide a healthy way forward. BetterHelp can connect you with a therapist in your area of need.
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