When compared to twenty-seven other emotions, high school students report that sadness stayed with them up to 240 times longer than emotions lasting the shortest time.
Sadness lasted longer than shame, surprise, fear, disgust, boredom, irritation, relief or poignancy.
The shorter-lasting emotions were usually triggered by events that had little importance to the teen whereas the long-lasting emotions were related to events that were important to them and had a strong impact.
Be mindful of this when listening to your teen talk about their emotions. Understand that when sadness lingers and is then compounded by other disappointments, shame or humiliation, there can be a snowball effect.
Never tell them to “just get over it”. Nobody “gets over it”. They learn to cope. Be supportive and teach them these valuable lessons about their feelings.
Claudia
Join me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch.
At DrClaudia.net, click on the "Ask Me" button and send me a question.
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Sadness lasted longer than shame, surprise, fear, disgust, boredom, irritation, relief or poignancy.
The shorter-lasting emotions were usually triggered by events that had little importance to the teen whereas the long-lasting emotions were related to events that were important to them and had a strong impact.
Be mindful of this when listening to your teen talk about their emotions. Understand that when sadness lingers and is then compounded by other disappointments, shame or humiliation, there can be a snowball effect.
Never tell them to “just get over it”. Nobody “gets over it”. They learn to cope. Be supportive and teach them these valuable lessons about their feelings.
Claudia
Join me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch.
At DrClaudia.net, click on the "Ask Me" button and send me a question.
Sign up for the Sunday newsletter. Don't miss a thing!
