Overcoming Sorrow

Sorrow is the opposite of happiness, yet both are part of human existence.

Like life and death and the changing of seasons, it should be familiar enough to recognize that things have a sequence. Sometimes that sequence is a time of birth or rebirth, a creative force that erases failure and negativity. Other times, however, there’s a clearly defined sense of decay, lack of progress, mistakes and endings.

The key to overcoming sorrow and sadness is to remember that you will get past it in time — even though you can’t possibly see how at the present. An adage says that time heals all wounds. This includes the wounds and pain of sorrow. While you might think, and feel like you’re experiencing a broken heart, perhaps from the break-up of a relationship, the death of a loved one or the distancing of friends, this is but a temporary emotional distress.

It won’t last forever – not unless you become clinically depressed, in which case you need help from a medical professional, such as a psychiatrist, who can prescribe medications to ease depression, and begin psychotherapy to assist you in better coping with clinical depression. Telling someone – even yourself – that you’ll get over this doesn’t really help the situation.

And we’ve probably all been there, finding little comfort after pouring out our hearts to a friend, loved one, even a neighbor. For one thing, it does nothing to ease the pain. And that’s what you’re primarily interested in. You want a quick fix or an easy remedy to use to get past this dreadful feeling. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. The best that you can do is to acknowledge what you’re feeling, rather than trying so hard to bury it. By stuffing your emotions down, you’re setting yourself up for them to resurface later, perhaps in a more self-destructive and debilitating manner. Excerpt from Psych Central, read the full article