Anxiety and being sad often go hand in hand.
Anxiety
Anxiety is defined by the American Psychological Association defines anxiety as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.” Anxiety is often caused by fear about future outcomes. Will this presentation go well? Will I do well on this math test? What happens if…? And thoughts like continue, often throughout the day.
Sadnes
The Paul Ekman Group defines sadness as “one of the seven universal emotions experience by everyone around the world resulting from the loss of someone or something important.” There is a range of sadness, from mild disappointment to intense anguish.
The Purpose of Anxiety and Sadness
Even though anxiety and sadness are uncomfortable emotions, in moderate amounts, they are meant to help us.
Studies show that anxiety helps us identify and respond to danger in “flight or fight” mode. It can motivate us to face strenuous challenges. The right amount of anxiety can even help us perform better and stimulate action and creativity.
Studies focused on sadness find that sadness lets us know that we need to grieve and seek out those who love and support us.
In modest amounts, these two emotions help us understand we need to prepare for the future, or deal with current trauma in the present. However, sometimes we can cause anxiety and sadness because we want more.
“I will be Happy in the Future”
“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today”
Dale Carnegie
As a Type A Striver as well, I relate to the above quote. People often push off being happier for the future. “I’ll be happy when I get the next promotion” “I’ll be happy when my diet pays off” “I’ll be happy when I have seven figures in the bank.”These are great goals to have. However, our happiness can’t be contingent on them. Even ancient philosophy has known this for centuries.
“It is quite impossible to unite happiness with a yearning for what we don’t have. Happiness has all that it wants and resembling the well-fed, there shouldn’t be hunger or thirst”
Epictetus
How to be Happier Today
Learning to be happy today is a skill. You can still desire what you want and proactively work towards it. However, don’t pin your happiness on some future reward. Often, once people have the accolade, we tend to look immediately to the next task without even savoring the goal we worked diligently for years to attain.
Happiness comes from being mindful of the present, being grateful, and appreciating the little day-to-day joys. I know it sounds pedantic. However, this repeated advice is common because it works.
Need help with being happier? Check out the below guides to learn more about happiness.
- How to Be Happier | Thwarting the Hedonic Treadmill
- Be Positive with the Broaden and Build Theory
- 8 Little Ways to be Happy Every Day
“There is so much to worry about”
“How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened!”
Thomas Jefferson to John Adams
Anxiety can run rampant. We worry about fictional scenarios, 99% of which will never happen. Instead of focusing our mental energies on being happy, thinking of future goals, or even just letting our mind blissfully wonder – we worry about what if the waiter is mean to us or what we would do in a typhoon in Asia even though we’ve never been.
Again, even ancient philosophy knew the dangers and tendency to overthink and make ourselves anxious.
“There is nothing so certain in our fears that’s not yet more certain in the fact that most of what we dread comes to nothing.”
Seneca
How to Reduce Anxiety
Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the United States. 18.1% of the population suffers extreme anxiety and most everyone suffers from some form of anxiety.
The problem only worsens with the increased pressure from social media, work expectations, and poor sleeping habits.
To better handle anxiety, check out some of the below guides.
Key Take-Aways
- Anxiety and sadness in moderation help us realize that our lives are lacking in something or that we need to prepare.
- However, when these two emotions get out of control, we can spiral into a state of anxious unhappiness
- Luckily, there are resources and best practices to better control these two emotions.
Action items
What are you feeling today? Take a look at one of the guides and better understand your emotion. Take the time to proactively work on improving your current situation.
