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One Unwanted Change

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The Cat That Was -
A heartwarming story of healing and new beginnings.

Feeling Sad

We all feel sad sometimes don't we? It's one of the many normal human emotions... Pet loss is one of life's events that can cause us to go into the blue. And the sadness we sometimes experience can make us feel, ahem, sad and guilty. We might think it is unacceptable, we aren't allowed to go into the blue occasionally. Shouldn’t we pop a pill to make us happy?

However, new research shows that it's to our advantage to feel sad every now and again. A psychology professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia has found that sadness can make us think and act more intelligently. Dr Miriam Stoppard wrote in her Daily Mirror newspaper column, October 18, 2011: "When we're happy we tend to talk a lot about ourselves and when we're sad we tend to listen more and make less self-centred conversation."

Research also shows:
Sad people tend to be more sceptical about myths and rumours.
They're more likely to look at people as individuals rather than as stereotype.
Sad people can be more sympathetic and therefore better company.
Sadness makes you think more deeply, you concentrate on new information.
When you feel sad you look towards the outside world and reassess your old ideas.

Knowing its OK to feel sad every now and again makes me feel very happy indeed.