What do you do when you feel unbearably sad?

[whatausername]

Just that really. Everything passes eventually but what do you do meantime?

Gosh it depends. I often like to be alone so I might sit in my car or have a shower so I can cry in peace. Or I go to bed.

if it’s something I feel I can share with a friend I might reach out to a friend but I find that difficult.

sometimes with the right level of sadness I might still be able to go for a walk or a run. But with unbearable sadness solo crying somewhere private is probably my best option.

Hope you’re okay by the way x

Make a cup of tea.
Probably not much help to you but tea is never not comforting IMO. But also because no matter how unbearably awful you feel you can always last until the kettle boils, until the tea brews etc. It breaks time up into tiny manageable chunks.

Cry it out. Let it out. Try to take it easy for a day or two and make space for myself and my feelings. Remind myself that feeling is a healthy thing to do and that letting those feelings out safely is important, and they will shift - they always do

Cry.

If you need to cry, just cry.

It can help get some of the emotions out. It can also tire you out so that actually you don't have the energy for the sadness to be quite so overwhelming.

Sleep, fresh air, exercise, talking, gardening, baking. Whatever makes you feel even a tiny bit better. I hope you are OK.

Go for a run.

You could talk about it here?

Eat.

I’ve been unbearably sad for the last few years now (reactive, I’ve had some awful things happen and now I am going through a horrible health issue it’s been relentless).

I’m now quite fat. So I’ve stopped doing that as of a few days ago.

So now I don’t know what to do. I just try and get through the day.

Getting out for a walk always sounds a bit of a cliche but it really does help.

I live near a primary school and the sound of them out at play time helps too.

And always tea.

I hope you're OK, op.

Read a Georgette Heyer. There is something so comforting about them, and as my late mum and nan were so fond of them it is like having a hug from them as well. Preferably read in the bath with a mug of tea and a bar of chocolate.
Hope things get better for you soon

I think it depends on why I'm feeling sad: if it's something I can change or not, what the context is and so on.

I've been bereaved the last year or so and really struggle still with grief; as a result am sad an awful lot with some very bad days. I think there's certainly a place for just crying and getting that out but that there needs to be a point where you decidedly try to put yourself back in a calmer space. Distraction works well for me, just getting up and moving my body for a walk, even just going to another room and doing a task, playing with the dog: calling a friend or playing a computer game, cooking dinner - finding something to remove yourself from the situation for a brief time.

Hope you're ok OP.

I eat. I withdraw and avoid the issue- not good. When I am being sensible i get out in the fresh air. It obviously doesn't change the way i am.feeling but it does give me the chance to focus on the beauty around me i rediscovered a local park. Take care.

Eat usually.

not helpful though, so next best things for me are walking outside, going for a run, going to the gym, having a warm shower, sleeping, driving / sitting in my car listening to music.

Having a good cry always helps. Writing my thoughts down too

I find guided meditations comforting. I find ones that touch on the reason that I'm sad and pick a teacher with a soft kind voice, and go with it. I've felt a huge weight move off me during meditating. I use the free Insight Timer app.

Hope you find some comfort somehow OP x

I am definitely a comfort eater, but I usually put on a proper weepie and have a good cry.

Hormone boosting activities really help. The endorphins oxytocin serotonin and dopamine can all be induced by various activities. If you Google each of these three hormones in turn there will be many examples. E.g. Search serotonin inducing activities etc you will find many things come up. HTH.

I'd want to be alone, with a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate. A good book to read wouldn't go amiss either.

I have some unhealthy strategies and some better ones. Sometimes knocking back a bottle of wine helps. Obviously that's one of the unhealthy ones. Or eating cheese on toast, ditto. I don't care, they help in the moment and sometimes it's about whatever gets you through the night.

Better ones are calling a really good friend, one who will understand and make me laugh or watching something really relentlessly cheerful, like Modern Family or Friends or something similar. A walk in the woods sometimes helps, a walk on the beach is even better. There's something about the majesty of nature and something bigger than all of us that sometimes stops me in my tracks. I'm not at all religious but sitting in a church can also sometimes be soothing.

I'm sorry you're sad. I have been quite a lot recently too, it's shit isn't it? I also find that giving some thought to what I can change and what I can't helps. So some stuff is just pointless to worry about, some you can't help but be sad about - I am recently bereaved so that isn't going to go away anytime soon - and other stuff you might need to wallow in before you eventually let it go. Good luck.

Go outside. Its stops the overwhelming feeling

Drink wine and watch mindless tv. Not sure it's healthy. Really hope you're ok OP. Please reach out to someone if you can.

My car is my safe space. I'll drive out of my way with my music on quite loud, it's my way of making myself feel much better and it really works for me.

Read something nice. Cup of coffee

Sleep. Always have done no idea why
If I'm sad or grouchy or anything I sleep

I have to keep busy or else I find myself sort of paralysed and unable to get off the sofa. I try and rund errands, clean the house, declutter, whatever springs to mind. Anything but sit still.

@CMOTDibbler - I’m reading The Unknown Ajax right now! Heyer is a balm to the soul.

OP, I sit outside. I wrap up warm if needed and sit where I can hear the birds. Often I close my eyes and let everything fade away except the sound of the birds. It’s a sort of mindfulness or meditation, I guess. Listening to them busily living their lives and bickering with the territorial robin… it calms and soothes me and helps me step back.

Sometimes I put on a piece of music that makes me sad and just have a bloody good cry then a sleep.

I hope you are doing okay.