Honors College Art & Science of Emotions Fall 2017 (1:20 p.m.) Sadness Journal | Page 16

through physical pain, I would sit down with an empty journal and map my emotions, delving into what I
was connecting them with and why these connections were being made. By doing so, I was able to pin-
point the reasons behind my sadness and either change that aspect of my life, or cut out things that caused
me emotional pain. Therefore, by allowing myself to feel sadness, I was able to make changes to better my
life for myself.
However, I was not the only one positively impacted by my sadness. As stated previously, my par-
ents did not have a very civil relationship. However, when I began therapy, they were forced to interact
and talk about what I was going through on a weekly basis. A period of time each week was also dedicated
to family therapy. Throughout this time, they began to bond over mutual concern for the sadness I was
experiencing. This way, they were able to become more civil with each other by recognizing that they
shared a common interest in my stability. Throughout this process, I was also able to become closer with
my family, as I began to realize that I was cared for by all of them. Therefore, my sadness was able to unite
portions of my family that were not previously able to agree on anything.
To this day, I am able to use my sadness to discover aspects of my life that harm me emotionally
and gain the motivation to make my life better. My family is also still able to interact civilly, even in per-
son. Therefore, when we allow ourselves to feel sadness, we also allow ourselves to make personal discov-
ery and become closer in our relationships. Additionally, feeling sadness could allow us to avoid anguish
instead of being overwhelmed by it if society allowed us to express our sadness or feel sadness for longer
periods of time. By acknowledging that is possible and likely for us to feel sad, and for others to be feeling
sad at the same time, we are able to bond through our sadness. Therefore, if we truly want to help each
other be more happy and healthy mentally, we must acknowledge and allow ourselves to feel emotions
across the spectrum, even if they may not feel pleasant at the time.
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