Most of us feel a little ‘down’ occasionally.  This could range from the ‘Monday morning blues’ to a full-blown depression.  The focus today will be the ‘Monday morning blues’. These ‘blues’  (low level of happiness) can caused by a whole multitude of issues in your life.  But is feeling sad occasionally really a bad thing?  Can you really expect to go through life always happy, never feeling sad?  I don’t think so.   This world is a tough place to live, with lots of opportunity for disappointment as well as success.  Wishing you didn’t feel sad may cause your ‘down’ feeling to be extended while you spend energy beating yourself up for feeling ‘down’.

Sadness is not always a bad thing.  It could be an opportunity to explore your feelings, to understand what makes you tick.  Sadness may be a signal that all is not right with the world and perhaps we need to make some adjustments.  Sadness is a reminder that we cannot take happiness for granted.  Sadness can be used in a positive context to search for improvement, instead of just allowing ourselves to be sad, which if not confronted could continue to develop into depression.

Why not use these feelings as a signal for growth opportunities in your life!  It doesn’t require in depth analysis with a psychologist for you to examine your own feelings.  If you are feeling sad, check your inner thoughts and behaviors for any clues for what’s currently happening in your life.  While you can’t change others, you can change yourself and perhaps remove this sadness in the process. 

- Joe Freeman