States of sadness

Sadness can be felt mildly, extremely, or somewhere in between. The least intense state of sadness is disappointment; this can progressively escalate to discouragement, distraughtness, resignation, helplessness, hopelessness, misery, despair, grief, sorrow, and anguish. The following figure shows a graph of each state of sadness and its intensity:

We will see what each of these represent:

• Disappointment: This is the feeling that expectations are not being met. The possible actions resulting from this state are seek comfort, mourn, feel ashamed, ruminate, withdraw. Seek comfort is a constructive action. Mourn is ambiguous and all the other actions are destructive.
• Discouragement: This is a response to repeated failures to accomplish something—the belief that it can't be done. The possible actions resulting from this state are protest, seek comfort, mourn, ruminate, withdraw. Protest and seek comfort are constructive actions. Mourn is ambiguous and all the other actions are destructive.
• Distraughtness: This involves sadness and makes it hard to think clearly. The possible actions resulting from this state are seek comfort, protest, feel ashamed, withdraw. Seek comfort is constructive. Protest is ambiguous and all the other actions are destructive.
• Resignation: This is the belief that nothing can be done. The possible actions resulting from this state are seek comfort, protest, withdraw, feel ashamed, mourn, ruminate. Seek comfort is constructive. Protest is ambiguous and all the other actions are destructive.
• Helplessness: This is the realization that one cannot make a situation better or easier. The possible actions resulting from this state are seek comfort, protest, withdraw, feel ashamed, ruminate, withdraw. Seek comfort is constructive. Protest is ambiguous and all the other actions are destructive.
• Hopelessness: This is the belief that nothing good will happen. The possible actions resulting from this state are: seek comfort, mourn, feel ashamed, ruminate, withdraw. Seek comfort is constructive. Mourn is ambiguous and all the other actions are destructive.
• Misery: This is a strong feeling of suffering or unhappiness. The possible actions resulting from this state are seek comfort, mourn, protest, ruminate, withdraw. Seek comfort is constructive. Mourn and protest are ambiguous and the last two actions are destructive.
• Despair: This involves the loss of hope that a bad situation will improve or change. The possible actions resulting from this state are seek comfort, mourn, ruminate, withdraw. Seek comfort is constructive. Mourn is ambiguous and the last two actions are destructive.
• Grief: This involves sadness over a deep loss. The possible actions resulting from this state are seek comfort, mourn, protest, feel ashamed, ruminate, withdraw. Seek comfort is constructive. Mourn and protest are ambiguous and all the other actions are destructive.
• Sorrow: This involves a feeling of distress and sadness, often caused by a loss. The possible actions resulting from this state are seek comfort, mourn, feel ashamed, ruminate, withdraw. Seek comfort is constructive. Mourn is ambiguous and all the other actions are destructive.
• Anguish: This involves intense sadness or suffering. The possible actions resulting from this state are seek comfort, mourn, protest, ruminate, withdraw. Seek comfort is constructive. Mourn and protest are ambiguous and the last two actions are destructive.