Sadness is one of the emotions that has the greatest impact on our lives, and that means we have to know how to manage it.

Both in Psychology and in the different neurosciences, research continues to be done on how this emotional state appears and what can be done so that it does not pose a problem that negatively affects our quality of life; but, beyond scientific advances, we must have the capacity to create reflections on sadness in order to be able to better prepare ourselves when it presents itself.

  • We encourage you to read: “120 positive phrases for living day to day with optimism”

Phrases and thoughts of sadness

The selection of sadness phrases that you can read below is a good way to take advantage of a starting point when generating thoughts about sadness.

Here are many of the best known, significant and powerful , but if you can think of more sad phrases don’t forget that you can also leave them in the comments section.

1. Tears are born from the heart, not the brain (Leonardo da Vinci)

The famous inventor also left as his legacy such interesting reflections as this.

2. Sadness is also a kind of defense (Ivo Andric)

One of the phrases of sadness that focuses on the good and usefulness of this feeling.

3. Depression is the inability to build a future (Rollo May)

A more existentialist way of interpreting this feeling.

4. A sad soul can kill faster than a bacterium (John Steinbeck)

The renowned writer leaves us a thought on sadness and its impact on our well-being.

5. Sadness is flying away on the wings of time (Jean de la Fontaine)

Jean de la Fontain talks about the way in which sadness disappears and goes away over time.

6. First, accept the sadness and accept that without losing, winning is not so good (Alyssa Milano)

The good side of sadness: its relationship to happiness.

7. There is no sadder image than a young pessimist (Mark Twain)

A sharp and very briefly expressed reflection.

8. In deep sadness there is no room for sentimentality (William S. Burroughs)

The American writer left this phrase of sadness to be interpreted freely.

9. Delicious tears! They are the dew of the heart (Letitia Elizabeth Landon)

A poetic reflection on the act of crying.

10. Sadness and darkness can be very beautiful and healing (Duncan Sheik)

Sadness seen as something that can heal us.

11. Crying is a cleansing act. There is a reason for the tears, the happiness and the sadness (Dionne Warwick)

In line with the previous sentence, this one also emphasizes the healing powers of this emotional state.

12. Sadness is but a fence between two gardens (Khalil Gibran)

A very lyrical and visual phrase of sadness.

13. Tears are the summer showers for the soul (Alfred Austin)

Alfred Austin, about the feeling of relief related to crying.

14. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened (Dr. Seuss)

One of Dr. Seuss’ most famous phrases.

15. Never let go of that fierce sadness called desire (Patti Smith)

Patti Smith’s music has a very sentimental view of sadness.

16. Unhappy is he who thinks of his childhood and only evokes memories of fear and sadness (H. P. Lovecraft)

The creator of the cosmic horror has a lot to say about sadness.

17. Absolute silence leads to sadness. It is the image of death (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)

One of the most powerful phrases of this French philosopher.

18. Humor is the best tool against sadness I’ve ever had in my life (Mike Mills)

The usefulness of sadness, highlighted once again.

19. I love sadness. It makes you feel more than anything (Jeff Ament)

To live the sadness as an experience that makes us feel alive.

20. The more we examine a story, the sadder it becomes (Nikolai Gogol)

About the way the emotional charge of the stories can change depending on how we “read” them.

21. Never make a decision when you are angry, sad, jealous, or in love (Mario Teguh)

One of the most pragmatic phrases about sadness.

22. Tears are words that need to be written (Paulo Coelho)

Another lyrical formula for talking about crying.

23. The pain is not as strong as the guilt, but it takes more out of you (Veronica Roth)

A comparison between two emotional states linked to pain.

24. There are two kinds of people: those who prefer to be accompanied, and those who prefer to be alone (Nicole Krauss)

Different ways of coping with difficult situations.

25. When all is said and done, pain is the price we pay for love (E. A. Bucchianeri)

A phrase of sadness in which it is related to love.

26. Nothing thicker than a blade separates happiness from melancholy (Virginia Woolf)

The renowned writer Virginia Woolf talks about guilt and melancholy in a very poetic way.

27. We all have sadness in our lives, and something we can take advantage of (Sherilyn Fenn)

A phrase that reminds us of what we can do in situations we cannot control.

28. Everything takes longer than expected; it is the sad truth about life (Donna Tartt)

Sadness as something linked to time and expectations.

29. It’s sad to grow old, but it’s nice to grow up (Brigitte Bardot)

About the aging process and how good it is.

30. Sad patience, close neighbor of despair (Matthew Arnold)

Another one of those sad phrases in which two emotions are contrasted.

31. Those who give their wings are saddened by not seeing them fly (Antonio Porchia)

Porchia explores certain reasons that may be behind the appearance of pain and sadness.

32. Sadness was not made for beasts, but for men (Miguel de Cervantes)

Cervantes, about the human character of this emotion.

33. Never give up on melancholy (Sydney Smith)

he melancholy, linked to sadness, is something that can invade us if we don’t put a stop to it.

34. My desolation begins to create a better life (William Shakespeare)

Another of the phrases about sadness that focus on the good.

35. Our lives are full of all genders. Fear, Hope and Sadness (Nicolas Roeg)

This feeling, which we sometimes call “negative”, is a part of life.

36. Melancholy Sees the Worst (Christian Nestell Bovee)

Melancholy changes our perspective even if we don’t realize it.

37. I expel pain and sadness when I dance, and I attract happiness and rhythm (Igna Muscio)

Dance understood as something to purify the pain.

38. If you have not learned from sadness, you cannot appreciate happiness (Nana Mouskouri)

Once again, the double edge of sadness and happiness.

39. Sadness in a good place to get songs from (Sarah McLachlan)

The most productive side of sadness.

40. Melancholy is the nurse of frenzy (William Shakespeare)

Shakespeare reflects on melancholy.

41. Happiness is the dream of love and sadness its awakening (Madame Basta)

In this sentence about sadness, it is understood that it is part of a sequence of events that begins with love.

42. Irony is a sadness that cannot cry and smiles (Jacinto Benavente)

The irony and its relationship to this feeling.

43. The soul resists acute pain much better than prolonged sadness (Rousseau)

Rousseau, once again, about the different ways in which sadness can present itself.

44. Do the tears that are not cried wait in small lakes? Or are they invisible rivers that run towards sadness? (Pablo Neruda)

A nice poem about sadness and crying.

45. Every sigh is like a sip of life that one gets rid of (Juan Rulfo)

The sadness linked to the passage of time, once again.

46. I never thought that in happiness there was so much sadness (Mario Benedetti)

Often, within the emotional states there are nuances that point to feelings opposed to the one that dominates us at that moment.

47. Sadness is a gift from heaven, and pessimism a sickness of the spirit (Amado Nervo)

It is very useful to reflect on the difference between sadness and pessimism.

48. Is life sad or am I sad? (Beloved Nervo)

When you don’t know if the sadness comes more from yourself or from what happens to you.

49. Red is the best cure for sadness (Bill Blass)

The passions linked to the colour red, understood as an antidote to sadness.

50. Beware of sadness, it is a vice (Gustave Flaubert)

One of the phrases of sadness that can be taken as both reflection and advice.

51. If you are patient in a moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow (Chinese proverb)

One of those proverbs about sadness that can be taken as advice.

52. He who loves you well will make you weep (Spanish proverb)

A phrase widely used in Spain, although it should be viewed critically so that it does not legitimize toxic relationships.

53. If you are sad, smile, for a sad smile is better than the sadness of not seeing you smile (Anonymous)

An anonymous phrase that throws a light of optimism on the sadness.

54. The sadness of separation and death is the greatest of deceptions (Mahatma Gandhi)

One of Gandhi’s phrases that connects with his philosophy of life and religiosity.

55. It is very sad to think that nature speaks while humans do not listen (Victor Hugo)

A phrase of sadness by Victor Hugo, whose scope encompasses all of humanity.

56. Joy rejuvenates, but sadness ages (Anonymous)

An anonymous phrase about the effects that these two emotions produce in us.

57. If the world is a veil of tears, smile until rainbows come through it (Lucy Larcom)

A very poetic phrase of sadness.

58. You cannot stop the bird of sorrow from flying over you, but you can stop it from nesting in your hair (Chinese proverb)

Another of the Chinese proverbs about sadness, which talks about the chronification of this feeling.

59. A Friend is the Hand that Mops Up Sadness (Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino)

A reflection inspired by the action of stroking the head of someone for whom you feel affection.

60. Being of two a sadness, it is no longer sadness, it is joy (Francisco Villaespesa)

Shared sadness is something qualitatively different from that experienced alone, according to this poet and playwright.

61. It’s all a secret, the land of tears (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

The famous writer of The Little Prince also left such lyrical phrases of sadness as this.

62. Sometimes a false joy is preferable to a sadness of true causes (René Descartes)

The French philosopher reflects on the relationship between our feelings and the truth.

63. Happiness is sadness in reverse (Anonymous)

What is the relationship between joy and sadness? According to this anonymous phrase, this one is surprisingly simple.

64. No place is sadder than an empty bed (Gabriel García Márquez)

A phrase of sadness from one of the most important Latin American writers in history.

65. Laugh when you are sad, crying is too easy (Anonymous)

Another one of those phrases about sadness of anonymous authorship that can be used to manage this emotion.

66. Success is not a good teacher, failure makes you humble Shah Rukh Khan)

There is always something good even in situations where everything seems lost .

67. In this world nothing is certain except death and taxes (Benjamin Franklin)

There are certainties that hurt to remember, although this phrase of sadness has a note of humor.

68. It’s sad to know that I’ll be leaving, but looking back I see many great memories (Bonnie Blair)

Even in goodbyes there is a touch of sweetness.

69. The walls we build around us to keep us out of sadness also leave out happiness (Jim Rohn)

Sometimes avoiding the bad keeps us isolated from all sensations.

70. Nothing is sadder than the death of an illusion (Arthur Koestler)

Losing the illusion in a life project is one of the hardest blows.

71. Death is the beginning of immortality (Maximilian Robespierre)

This phrase leads us to think that dying is not the end of everything, but that our history will continue to be present in the world for those who have surrounded us.

72. A person can feel lonely, even when many people love her (Anne Frank)

A touching phrase from “The Diary of Anne Frank”.

73. I’m not afraid of death, what I am afraid of is the trance, going there. I confess that I am curious to know what it is about (Atahualpa Yupanqui)

The curiosity to know what happens after death is a constant in humanity, being the origin of multiple beliefs.

74. The curious paradox is that when I accept myself, I can change (Carl Rogers)

The humanist psychologist Carl Rogers, pronounced this beautiful reflection .

75. Death is sweet, but its antechamber is cruel (Camilo José Cela)

This phrase indicates that what is cruel and what is really had is not death itself, but the suffering before it.

76. The pain of separation is nothing compared to the joy of being reunited (Charles Dickens)

Separating from someone you love is very painful. But when you see him again, the joy you feel is immense.

77. Any moment that is not spent in love, is lost (Torquato Tasso)

It is better to invest our efforts in sowing good energies.

78. Perhaps part of loving is learning to let go (Anonymous)

Loving someone else means that, by force majeure, we are obliged to let them go. Sad, but true.

79. Saying goodbye means nothing. It’s the time we spend together that matters (Trey Parker)

Trey Parker takes away the value of the moment of farewell in order to emphasize the good of the time spent in each other’s company .

80. When death falls upon man, the mortal part is extinguished; but the immortal principle is withdrawn and departs safely (Plato)

Plato believed in the existence of the soul, considering that death was its separation from the body and that after death it returned to the world of ideas.

81. All my possessions for a moment longer (Elizabeth I)

It’s no use being rich if our time is running out.

82. The past limits us, but the future frightens us. The only safe place is the present (Isaac Lopez)

The only place where we have the power to change things is in the present.

83. Life is sadness, overcome it (Teresa of Calcutta)

There is no choice but to leave the sadness behind as soon as possible and start finding the sweet side of existence.

84. If we’re alone, we get lonelier. Life is strange (Paulo Coelho)

The well-known Paulo Coelho philosophizing on this subject.

85. Death is only important insofar as it makes us reflect on the value of life (André Malraux)

The author of this sentence makes us see that the fact that our life has an end must make us reflect on how important it is what we live.

86. I have sadness inside me. I have anger inside me. I have a broken heart inside me. (Ellen DeGeneres)

From the popular TV hostess.

87. When the brothers of a woman begin to watch with tears, it is the man who begins not to see clearly. (Achille Tournier)

A great metaphor for shared sadness.

88. Sadness usually results from one of the following causes: when a man is not successful or when he is ashamed of his success. (Seneca)

A philosophical way of understanding the causes of sadness and apathy.

89. Keep your sadness to yourself and share your happiness with others. (Mark Twain)

Another great famous quote from the American writer.

90. I was thinking that nothing is forever, and how sad that is. (Brad Pitt)

If nothing lasts forever, we’ll have to value it even more.