Sadness is typically an emotional reaction to some external event, such as a death, loss or severe disappointment. When sadness is triggered, a heavy emptiness or longing is felt because the brain’s appraisal system determines that we have experienced a lasting loss.
Sadness is a painful emotion of disconnection from someone or something that we value. It allows for personal reflection and turns our attention inward in a way that can eventually facilitate acceptance. Hence, this emotion, sadness, assists us by providing an opportunity to consider the impact of our loss and the necessity of revising our objectives and strategies for the future. Studies have shown that sadness tends to decrease one’s confidence in first impressions (Schwartz, 1990) and that the experience of sadness leads one to struggle with the painful, existential question of “Who am I?” (Henretty, Levitt, & Mathews, 2008).
If sadness can help us to: remember and accept reality; attain insight which can help realign our goals; be cautious decision makers; and create an opportunity to observe ourselves, then perhaps its adaptive purpose is evident. In spite of how it makes us feel, sadness, is a (self) protective function.
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