The Difference Between "Happiness" and "Sadness"
- erudite .
- Oct 1, 2022
- 2 min read
By Sanam Marjan
The meaning of happiness is different for everyone and so is sadness. We see smiles on faces and depict they are happy, while tears with a frown on their face tells us they are sad. But, there is more to the expression that we can’t see.
Happiness and sadness involve separate areas of the brain and have different chemicals assisting them. The four signaling chemicals responsible for happiness include:
Serotonin
Dopamine
Endomorphins
Oxytocin
Serotonin: Helps to balance our mood and promotes the feeling of well being and reward.
Endorphins: Act as the body's natural pain killers as they help to overcome stress and discomfort.
Dopamine: Is also known as the feel-good hormone as it plays a role in feeling happiness and pleasure, along with reward. It controls many functions, including behaviour, emotion, and cognition. The chemical mainly communicates with the front part of the brain, which is associated with pleasure and reward.
Oxytocin: Is a happy hormone where its role is to promote social interaction and may help you feel positive emotions.
Chemicals that makes us sad are:
Lack of serotonin
Lack of dopamine
Norepinephrine
GABA
Serotonin: This chemical plays a role in sleep and in depression as well. Inhibition of it may play a role in regulating your body’s essential functions including appetite, arousal and mood. And low levels of serotonin is directly associated with sadness and stress.
Dopamine: This chemical can make you feel sad when there is a shortage in your body. Dopamine motivates people to take actions toward goals, needs and issues. It is also a chemical to enhance brain function so lack of it causes disinterest and demotivation.
Norepinephrine: This chemical or hormone responds to stress. It is the part of the body responsible for creating the “fight-or-flight” feeling. It also has close relation to high blood pressure issues, an imbalance of which may trigger blood pressure. Furthermore, sadness may trigger anxiety and lead to various sorts of depression.
GABA: is another neurotransmitter which makes the brain calm and relaxed. It affects the brain to slow down or stop activity when needed to function better. When we are sad it acts as a calming activity to release tension in order to stabilise us. Chronic stress shunts the body and reduces GABA production as a result it stops providing the soothing effect.
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