Editing Sadness (section)

== Coping mechanisms ==
{{Main|Coping (psychology)}}
[[File:Sadness at the beach.jpg|thumb|A man expressing sadness with his head in his hands]]
[[File:Гроб_Марије_и_Петра_Шкуљвића_на_србском_праославном_гробљу_у_Дубровнику.jpg|thumb|A carving of the family of Marija and Petar Škuljević exhibiting sadness over their deaths ]]

People deal with sadness in different ways, and it is an important emotion because it helps to motivate people to deal with their situation. Some coping mechanisms include: getting social support and/or spending time with a pet,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Bos, E.H.|author2=Snippe, E.|author3=de Jonge, P.|author4=Jeronimus, B.F.| year = 2016 | title = Preserving Subjective Wellbeing in the Face of Psychopathology: Buffering Effects of Personal Strengths and Resources | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 11| issue = 3| pages = e0150867| doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0150867 | pmid=26963923|pmc=4786317|bibcode=2016PLoSO..1150867B |doi-access=free}}</ref> creating a list, or engaging in some activity to express sadness.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freeonlinetherapy.org/why-its-import-to-express-your-sadness/ |title=Why It's Import to Express Your Sadness |date=October 2018 |website=Free Online Therapy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129012900/https://freeonlinetherapy.org/why-its-import-to-express-your-sadness/ |archive-date=2018-11-29 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some individuals, when feeling sad, may exclude themselves from a social setting, so as to take the time to recover from the feeling.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

While being one of the moods people most want to shake, sadness can sometimes be perpetuated by the very coping strategies chosen, such as ruminating, "drowning one's sorrows", or permanently isolating oneself.<ref name="gol-emo-intel" />{{rp|69–70}} As alternative ways of coping with sadness to the above, [[cognitive behavioral therapy]] suggests instead either challenging one's negative thoughts, or scheduling some positive event as a distraction.<ref name="gol-emo-intel" />{{rp|72}}

Being attentive to, and patient with, one's sadness may also be a way for people to learn through solitude;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barnstone |first1=Aliki |date=2000 |title=New England Review (1990–) |jstor=i40009359 |journal=[[Spring (journal)|Spring]] |volume=21 |issue=2 |page=19 | issn=1053-1297 }}</ref> while emotional support to help people stay with their sadness can be further helpful.<ref name="sky-clee-fams" />{{rp|164}} Such an approach is fueled by the [[Object relations theory|underlying belief]] that loss (when felt wholeheartedly) can lead to a new sense of aliveness, and to a re-engagement with the outside world.<ref>{{cite book |last=Parsons |first=Michael |date=13 August 2000 |title=The Dove that Returns, the Dove that Vanishes: Paradox and Creativity in Psychoanalysis |url=https://archive.org/details/dovethatreturnsd00pars |url-access=limited |location=London, United Kingdom |publisher=[[Routledge]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/dovethatreturnsd00pars/page/n18 4] |isbn=978-0415211826 }}</ref>