What's the Use in Crying
By Elaine Bayless, Organizer for the North Raleigh, NC Chapter
It’s time to talk about sadness. This is a difficult emotion to discuss because it is not pleasant. While some people understand the power of a good scare or adrenaline rush, very few people want to feel sorrow, sadness, depression, or agony. Sadness is an emotion that is often classified a symptom of mental illness (bipolar disorder, clinical depression). But sadness, like all the “dark side” emotions, is more than just a symptom or a feeling to avoid.
I’m not talking about pain, because that is its own entry. I am talking about the emotion of sorrow. We grieve for many reasons, but grief is not often allowed in our culture or our day to day lives. Many years ago, after a rough breakup, a friend advised me to try going on an antidepressant. Yes, I was very sad. But an antidepressant wouldn’t have resolved my sorrow. To quote Alanis Morissette, the only way out was through.
