[CHAT]: Sad feels - how to deal
The chat will kick off at 8pm AEST, Monday 8th of August 2016.
Log in and High Five this post for an email reminder. Tell us what you'd like to talk about by clicking "Reply".
It’s normal to feel down or sad at different times, and for a whole range of reasons. In fact, most people feel sadness at some time or other in their lives.
Society tells us that we must feel happy all the time in order to live a healthy and successful life, but life has ups and downs, so it’s impossible to remain happy all the time. It’s okay to feel sad sometimes especially in response to stressful life events, but usually these feelings go away with time.
Feeling sad can look like crying, losing interest in activities that you used to enjoy, changes in sleeping patterns and/or appetite and withdrawing from others.
It can be difficult to know what to do when sadness becomes a problem, and when to seek help if feeling down is impacting on other aspects of your life. We might feel guilty or ashamed about feeling sad (even though these feelings are very common!) which can make it harder to cope. Luckily, there are many strategies that we can use manage these feelings, and look after our wellbeing.
Join myself and @Myvo on Monday 8th August at 8pm AEST to talk about how to manage and cope when you feel sad.
The chat will kick off at 8pm AEST, Monday 8th of August 2016.
Log in and High Five this post for an email reminder. Tell us what you'd like to talk about by clicking "Reply".
That sounds really soothing, @j95!
I'm also a big fan of showers, dark rooms, and drinking water đŸ˜›
Hi @redhead!
What makes you feel sad?
It sounds like we're all agreeing on one thing - that feeling sad can be caused by lots of different things, and sometimes for no reason at all. For me, movies/TV shows/books can make me sad or emotional (is this what you mentioned @N1ghtW1ng? I cry so easily at sad stories omg), as well as stressful situations. A big thing for me is being a perfectionist - sometimes I feel sad when my work isn't quite up to the standard I wanted it to be, or a situation didn't quite go the way I expected.
Heya @N1ghtW1ng! Glad that you made it tonight! Sorry to hear about your wrist though
Hi everybody! Welcome to tonight's GR all about how to deal when you have sad feels. @Myvo and I are super pumped for an interesting (and hopefully valuable and helpful) chat.
We're going to be talking about feeling sad/down tonight, so if at any point tonight you feel that things are too much or like you need to talk to someone, please contact KHL (1800 55 1800) or Lifeline (13 11 14).
And as usual, please keep in mind our forum guidelines. 
Let's get started! Our first question of the night is:
What makes you feel sad?
Hey @khaleesi_18!
What makes you feel sad?
Hmm lots off things, it's an emotion just like happy, angry etc and so i feel it pretty often and there are lots of things that make it happen! Sometimes i also feel sad for no reason, or the reason is a little less apparent than when a sad thing happens, and i think that's okay too. So long story short, sad things make me feel sad, and sometimes my brain chemistry does đŸ˜›
@khaleesi_18 yep. They can make me feel emotionally sad.
Time for another question!
Sadness is not necessarily bawling your eyes out. What are some signs that you or someone else is feeling down?
I go really quiet, or get angry when anyone(mainly just my parents) tries to talk to me.
The word I was also looking for was sombre, really quiet and thinking, I guess.
Sadness is not necessarily bawling your eyes out. What are some signs that you or someone else is feeling down?
losing interest in things, not wanting to get out of bed, not caring about self care, not eating or sleeping or doing it too much, using unhelpful coping mechanisms, etc
Sadness is not necessarily bawling your eyes out. What are some signs that you or someone else is feeling down?
It can often be subtle, someone can be a bit more quiet or less interested in doing stuff. They might not react or interact with you the way they usually do. Basically things might just be...different.
With that being said, some people can have a sad and not show it outwardly. So you might not know unless you asked or knew something had happened!
@redhead yeah, and i think that's why things like RUOK day are so important. I think a lot of people don't feel like they can share the full spectrum of emotions; for examples see basically every post on Facebook đŸ˜›
I think it's awesome that you are authentic about your feelings too and more people should try to do that. We also need people to get better at knowing what to do with things that aren't easy emotions.
oooh right! Sorry @redhead i misread that, derp. A lot of people do that, i think it might be part of our culture or society that makes it the thing to do? Would you prefer to feel able to be at least a bit more open?
and yeh i would like to be a bit more open, im starting with professionals but i want to be able to with more people in my life.
No worries @j95! We'll have a summary up about tonight's chat. Enjoy your warm bed 
Looks like we all agree that we all withdraw from people and our usual everyday tasks when we're feeling sad.
Here's our next question!
What self-care do you do when you feel sad or having a bad day?
