Triggers of sadness

The most common universal triggers of sadness are:

• Losing a loved one
• Being rejected by someone important

Everyone has the same universal triggers as we are born with them. They affect us more intensely than learned triggers. The following figure shows the different triggers of sadness:

The most common learned triggers in sadness are:

• Perceiving a loss of status
• Not being invited to a party
• Losing a treasured belonging

Learned triggers can be part of your culture, or highly personal and created by your individual experiences.