You can try to ignore your sadness, but It will keep showing up
"What we resist persists." – Carl Jung.
We like to believe that emotions can be buried, that if we ignore our sadness long enough, it will disappear, that we stay busy, keep smiling, distract ourselves, or pretend we're fine; the feelings we don't want to face will dissolve on their own.
Sadness doesn't just go away.
It lingers beneath the surface, waiting. And when we refuse to acknowledge it, it finds other ways to express itself through our words, our actions, and our relationships. It leaks out in impatience, distance, and defensiveness. It turns minor disagreements into significant conflicts. It shows up in our exhaustion, our inability to be present, and our sudden moments of anger or withdrawal.
Sadness, when ignored, doesn't disappear. It simply changes shape. When we don't deal with sadness directly, it embeds itself in our daily lives.
In our relationships, we can become easily irritated, pushing people away without knowing why, or cling too tightly, afraid of being left.
In our reactions, a harmless comment from a friend stings more than it should. We overreact to minor inconveniences.
In our energy, we feel drained, unmotivated, and unable to engage with life, even if everything seems fine entirely.
In our self-sabotage, we procrastinate, avoid people, and numb ourselves with distractions, food, social media, or work.
Sadness demands to be felt. If we don't acknowledge it willingly, it will find other ways to be seen.
Many of us were taught that strength means holding it together, that sadness is something to suppress rather than process, and that as long as we keep moving, achieving, and performing, we don't have to feel the things we don't want to feel.
The real strength isn't avoidance. Real strength is sitting with discomfort instead of running from it.
It's saying, I am sad, and that is okay.
It's allowing ourselves to feel, not because we want to drown in emotion, but because unprocessed feelings don't just disappear; they harden. They create distance between us and the people we love, disconnecting us from our lives.
So what do we do with the sadness we've been avoiding? Let me share my way, and we can start by acknowledging it.
Name it. Instead of numbing or dismissing, say, "I feel sad, disappointed, and lost." Naming emotions removes their power.
Sit with it. Not forever. Not to dwell. Just long enough to listen. What is this sadness trying to tell you?
Express it, talk about it, write it down, or let yourself cry. Feelings don't demand solutions—they need space.
Be kind to yourself. Sadness is not a weakness. It is simply proof that you are human.
You can try to outrun your sadness, push it down, and bury it beneath busyness and distraction, but it will find you.
Here are some nuggets for you :
Ignoring sadness doesn't make it go away. It just finds other ways to manifest.
Unprocessed emotions affect our relationships. What we suppress in ourselves, we project onto others.
Strength isn't avoidance. Real strength is acknowledging and working through what we feel.
Feeling emotions doesn't mean drowning in them. It means giving them enough space to pass through us instead of getting stuck.
Healing begins with acceptance. The sooner we stop fighting our sadness, the sooner we can move forward.
In your interactions, relationships, and moments when you least expect it, the only way out is through. When you finally allow yourself to feel it, you might realise that sadness isn't something to fear; it is just a part of you asking to be seen.
This is beautiful! Resonates well with my heart.