Grab the Meic: Why Do I FeeI So Sad All The Time?

Most of us can feel sad at times. Katie contacted Grab the Meic about her feelings of sadness. Here’s Meic’s advice and tips to help.

Grab the Meic is your opportunity to ask us about anything that’s worrying you. We’re here to listen and give advice. If you want to #grabthemeic then check out this page, but remember this advice is not instant. If you need advice quickly then please contact the helpline.

This article is also available in Welsh – I ddarllen y cynnwys yma yn Gymraeg – clicia yma

Hi Meic,

I don’t know what it is, I just feel really depressed. People are saying its “just your period” but I think it’s more. I’m so sad all the time.

Katie (*name changed to protect their identity)

Meic’s Advice

Hi Katie, 

I’m so sorry to hear that you’re feeling sad all the time. It isn’t right to constantly feel like that and it must be making life pretty miserable. But there are things you could do to try and change things.

Spotting patterns

Everyone has times when their mood is low, when we feel sad or unhappy about life. In most cases this isn’t enough to stop us leading a normal life, but it can make things seem harder and less worthwhile. 

Thankfully these feelings usually pass in time and we quickly get back to being ourselves. However, it’s always a good idea to see if we can spot a pattern when this happens. Is there something you did, something that happened, someone you saw, etc. that made you feel like this? If you know what’s causing it might make more sense to you. You can plan for it if it happens again and learn how to manage those feelings better.

Depression

Depression is different to a low mood and sadness. It can make our lives very difficult to manage. Relationships with family and friends can suffer, it can interfere with school, work or your social life and can be so bad that you have no interest in doing anything.

If this sounds like you, then the first thing you need to do is rule out a physical cause. Sometimes something could be wrong physically that makes us feel like this, and you don’t realise the effect it can have on your mental health. Contact your GP who will be able to help you out.

Write it down

If there isn’t any physical issue then a good idea would be to think hard about what might be making you feel so low. Keeping a journal or diary can help with this. By looking back through what you’ve written you might notice something that will make things a bit more obvious.

Things to try if you’re sad

If the things above haven’t helped, and you can’t think what’s making you feel so low, then think about the things you could do to try and make yourself feel better. Here’s some ideas to try:

Sleep

Get enough good quality sleep. Switch off all technology at least an hour before you try to sleep. Here’s a previous Meic article to check out: Tips for Better Sleep

Eat

Eat a healthy and balanced diet. Try to ensure that you get a good mix of all the food groups. Check out the Eatwell guide.

Move

Exercise has been proven to improve our physical and mental health. You don’t have to join a gym or start running marathons – start gently with walking, riding a bike or going for a kickabout. Find something you enjoy as this will make exercising fun and won’t feel like a chore. Check out The Mix: Can exercise beat anxiety and depression

Write

Keep a gratitude journal. There are always things in our lives that we can be grateful for.  Putting it down on paper will really make you think about the good things in your life and it can help you feel more positive.

Company

Spend time with people that make you feel good. Good, positive energy can rub off in the same way that people’s negativity can bring you down. Spend time with people that make you feel happier.

Goals

Set some goals and work towards them. Achieving goals can give you a great sense of achievement which in turn can make you feel happier.

Creativity

Do something creative. What about learning something new? Keeping busy by learning and being creative can give you a sense of achievement and improve your low mood. 

Switch off

Cut down your time on social media. Even though we know that people just tend to share the good bits (highly edited) it can still make us feel down. Don’t compare your life to the unrealistic ones you see online. Figure out what’s real or not with our article: Is What You See On Instagram Real?

Talk

Tell someone how you’re feeling and give them the opportunity to support you. If they don’t know they can’t help. Tell a friend, family or someone you can trust. Or you can call our friendly advisers at Meic, we’re here to listen and help confidentially and for free. Call, text or chat to us online between 8am and midnight every day.

Check out the this NHS page for symptoms of low mood and depression, what you can do and where you can get help. Young Minds also has some great advice on depression, the symptoms and how to treat it.

Take care 

The Meic Team