Although we sometimes get caught up in our sad feelings, we do not have to. We can undo sadness and start growing our happiness and well-being. Here are some ways to deal with sad feelings.

1.      Beat rumination

Rumination is when you get stuck in your head, thinking about all the negative stuff that has gone wrong or could go wrong. Rumination is a crucial feature of depression and contributes to so many unnecessary sad feelings. That is why beating rumination is essential to getting through sadness.

To stop the rumination, try engaging your body in an intense activity that makes you unable to think for a few minutes. For example, you could do sprints or take an ice-cold shower. This shock can stop your brain from cycling and force it to focus on the present moment.

2.      Imagine a bright future, not a gloomy future

If something has happened to us to make us sad, we might become sadness-prone, thinking only about the worst things that could happen. This is common because we can better prepare if we think through these harmful outcomes. However, it just makes us feel worse in the long run. Our sadness can snowball into feeling all sorts of other negative emotions.

So try to imagine a brighter future, even if only in an exercise to help your brain breakthrough sad feelings. Here is an exercise to imagine future happiness.

3.      Cultivate mindfulness skills

Mindfulness involves self-reflection to gain awareness and acceptance of thoughts and emotions. Mindfulness can undo negative thinking styles that generate excess sadness.

To practice this skill, pause, pay attention to your negative emotions, and attempt to approach them with curiosity instead of judgment.

4.      Try cognitive reappraisal

 Reappraisal is an emotion regulation strategy that allows us to reinterpret a sad situation more positively (or less negatively). It is challenging for many people, and if we have a hard time seeing the silver linings, this can contribute to higher levels of sadness and depression.

Luckily, we can improve our reappraisal skills by practicing thinking about what is good in the situation. What are you grateful for? How could it have gone worse? What small things are good? By using reappraisal, you can stop feeling sad.

5.      Read some books on overcoming sadness

You can use many science-based strategies to undo sadness. By reading self-help books, you can begin to learn and implement these strategies into your life.

So grab some high-quality self-help books or take an online program to boost happiness and learn how to decrease your sad feelings.

6.      Boost your serotonin

Low serotonin is linked to depression. So, how might you increase serotonin?

One quick way is to eat carbohydrates. Yeah, it turns out that the warm fuzzy feeling we get when we eat carbs is partly due to the serotonin boost we get from them. Another way to boost serotonin is to (carefully) take 5-HTP supplements, which help increase serotonin in the body. Moreover, aerobic exercise, in particular, may contribute to higher serotonin levels.

7.      Eat less sugar

I was super surprised to discover that greater sugar intake is linked to higher levels of depression. We already know sugar is terrible for our physical health, but it turns out to be bad for our mental health, too. So try not to consume so much sugar if you are struggling with sad feelings.

8.      Do not obsess about your sad feelings

We are feeling sad sucks. However, we cannot allow ourselves to obsess about it. We make things worse if we focus too much on our lack of happiness and worry about being stuck in sadness. So, focus on actions and things you can do to feel better rather than focusing specifically on your sad feelings.

9.      Get a positive emotional boost

Positive emotions broaden our thought processes and build on themselves, creating a lifeline for us when we are sad. That is why it is so important to do things to create more positive emotions to reduce our sadness.

There are so many ways to create positive emotions. In many ways, this may be easier than directly decreasing negative emotions. For example, you can improve your ability to think positively or practice gratitude. You can also do things you enjoy, like spending time with friends, going outside, or reading. Whatever makes you happy, do these things.

10. Outsmart your smartphone

We are on our phones 24-7. However, spending too much time on our phones or the internet is associated with higher levels of depression and loneliness. So, it would be best to learn how to "outsmart your smartphone" and use it to increase happiness instead of sadness.

11. Be kind to yourself

 Challenging self-critical thoughts and being self-compassionate can help reduce negative emotions like sadness. So, if you are being hard on yourself, try thinking about your good qualities and strengths.

12. Make a plan

​To beat sadness, you can take many actions; making a "happiness plan" can be helpful. For example, you could try one new sadness-busting strategy each day. Whatever works for you to ensure you will do what makes you feel better matters most.

References

Garnefski, N., et al., Cognitive coping strategies and symptoms of depression and anxiety: a comparison between adolescents and adults. Journal of Adolescence, 2002. 25(6): p. 603–611.

Knüppel, A., et al., Sugar intake from sweet food and beverages, common mental disorder and depression: prospective findings from the Whitehall II study. Scientific Reports, 2017. 7(1): p. 1–10.

Lopresti, A.L., S.D. Hood, and P.D. Drummond, A review of lifestyle factors that contribute to critical pathways associated with major depression: diet, sleep, and exercise. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2013. 148(1): p. 12–27.