Sadness and sorrow

Painting of a young woman in a black dress reclining on a red chair against a red wall holding a white handkerchief.
SADNESS AND SORROW

Avoiding sadness can backfire, here’s how to turn towards it

Everyone has stretches of sadness. Shifting how you think about and relate to sad feelings could help you through these times

by Beth Kurland

Photo of a glass shattering on a grey surface with shards scattered mid-air and on the ground.
GRIEF

Grief is not a process with five stages. It is shattered glass

The five stages describe a grief that’s knowable and controlled. An accident in my kitchen helped me find a truer metaphor

by Joshua Thomas

Abstract painting of intertwined human figures with organic shapes and muted colours, creating a surreal and dynamic composition.
SADNESS AND SORROW

When emotions rot, they compost and transform into something new

A self that fractures through loss or grief marks a psychological shift, beginning a cycle of regrowth through decomposition

by Kelsey Day

Photo of a burning tower with smoke, reflects a man and woman standing nearby in an urban setting.
EMOTIONS

What it means for something to ‘sink in’ emotionally

The impact of important events is more than an emotion or mood – it must ‘sink in’, which is a process that unfolds in time

by Matthew Ratcliffe

Black-and-white photo of a man walking past another dressed as a bishop on a cobblestone street at night.
DIFFICULT EMOTIONS

The ‘melancholic joy’ of living in our brutal, beautiful world

Beyond simple contentment or despair, there’s a ‘melancholic joy’ in looking, clear-eyed, at our brutal, beautiful world

by Brian Treanor