How to Tell If Someone is Sad

How you live your life is entirely in your hands. You can either be an optimist, finding something good and positive even in the most dismal conditions, or be a pessimist, looking for something negative even in the best of circumstances. Many people belong to the latter category and tend to become sad very easily. It then becomes the onus of their family members and friends to get them on the right track, happy and laughing once again. However, to cure the sadness of a person, you first need to identify that he is unhappy. It is not necessary that a sad person will straightforwardly come across as a morose individual. Sometimes people hide their real feelings and sulk in private and therefore it becomes very difficult to know what is really going on with them. But it is not completely impermeable; there are signs and signals that show if someone is tormented. You need an eye for it though and of course empathy. If you have enough sensitivity then a little expression is enough for you to know if something is wrong with someone, especially if it is the matter of a loved one. It is only when you know that something is wrong that you can take possible actions to deal with it. In the following lines, we have provided a number of signs that will help you know if a person is sad.

How to Tell If Someone Is Sad

Notice the behavior of the person while talking to him. If he appears to be lost in his own world and hardly seems to be listening to you, chances are that he is sad and something is bothering him. People who are gravely sad find it difficult to relate to their environment. They feel a kind of solace in solitude; therefore, even if they are gathered around by people, they are mentally detached.
People who are sad because of some reason tend to avoid social gatherings, giving one excuse or the other. So, if you see that a particular person is turning down all the invitations for quite some time, chances are that he is depressed. This is because sad people do not want to be encircled by people all the time. They need their space and solitude to be morbid. They feel disassociated with the world since a lot is going on with them internally.
On the other side there is another theory that says that depressed or sad people also tend to over socialize. Sad people have a propensity to ignore their thoughts and feelings as that makes them staying with their own self unbearable. Therefore, they try to find their escape in attending parties and meeting new people.
Lack of energy is also one of the traits of sadness. Since a person is feeling miserable all the time, he finds it better to sit at one place for long, often thinking about the reason that has made him sad. More often than not, this person is distressing himself with going round and round about his past, the mistakes, the losses, the regret, the pain, etc. in his head. Such incessant thinking can make one feel drained out and leaves him with no will or energy to do anything.
Monitor the diet of the person. If he is sad, there will be two notable behaviors, either the appetite will drop altogether and he will hardly be interested in food or he will start having sudden and unusual cravings for starchy or sweet foods. This is called emotional eating and it is the one of the primary reasons for increasing obesity amongst people. Emotional eating is a disorder caused by increased stress or sadness. When our body is in emotional distress then it produces a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol triggers the urge in a person to eat the kind of fatty food that provides an instant pleasure and gives you a burst of energy, making you temporarily happy.
There will be changes in his usual behavior. Either he might be getting irritated at the slightest of provocation or he might not react to even the most annoying actions. This is because the mind is preoccupied and does not have the emotional capacity to deal with the ongoing situations.
If a person is sad, he often suffers from insomnia. Most probably, he will pass the night tossing and turning in bed, with his mind thinking about something or the other. This is the major reason why unhappy people find it very difficult to concentrate on anything properly. The lack of sleep leads to the lack of concentration, which can severely affect someone’s personal and professional life.
Sad people often take to addiction. They get hooked to alcohol or smoking or they go on drug binges. This is because all of these addictive substances give a person a false sense of happiness and hope. If you see someone who is drinking more than his usual capacity or smoking a lot of cigarettes then it is a cue for you to understand that his is troubled with some tough feelings.
It is said that eyes are the mirror to the heart of a person. If a person is sad, you will notice a withdrawn look in his eyes, signifying that there is something that is bothering him. You will see resignation in his smile and a defeatist withdrawal in his general disposition. But you will only be able to notice this if you look closely.

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How To Tell If Someone Is Sad

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