A brief history of melancholy - Courtney Stephens

If you are a living, breathing human being, chances are you have felt sad at least a few times in your life. But what exactly is melancholy, and what (if anything) should we do about it? Courtney Stephens details our still-evolving understanding of sadness -- and even makes a case for its usefulness.

Lesson by Courtney Stephens, animation by Sharon Colman Graham.

[MiotaLee]

Melancholy is a wonderful state of mind. It's the absence of happiness but lacks the sting of sadness which allows, at least me personally, to be more creative.

[XtremeKaiba]

I do have depression and sometimes it does inspire more creativity in me than when I am happy.

[walkingphrase]

Melancholy might be uncomfortable, but I wouldn't want to trade it for any paradise engineered environment or medication. I kind of agree with poets and philosophers that melancholy can be a good experience and is sometimes necessary.
Depression, on the other hand, is a totally different issue.

[j.s.]

In much of today's world, sharing sadness sadly doesn't lead to bonding. People are too busy to do more than give cliché responses.

[darthkate]

Thinking the way Emily Dickinson did made me postpone looking for help for my overwhelming feeling of melancholy. When I crossed the line and was talked into going to a psychiatrist, he asked me: "Why have you waited this long?". I answered: "People have hurt more than I have, who am I to complain about my pain?".
I have since learned: Sorrow has no measurement, and shouldn't be taken so lightly.

[kryldon]

I really want them to make a video about nostalgia

[brave.]

I think the strongest melancholy I’ve ever felt was right after a concert. Feeling incredibly sad that it’s over, but at the same time also extremely euphoric.

[curlyprivat]

I'm perciving melancholy as a beutiful feeling.

I normally get it - not exclusive - when I celebrate with my friends.

That feeling, that sting, that all will end, shows me the beauty of the moment.

[kairuzperez]

It is both a blessing and a curse to feel everything so deeply

[gforce]

when I was young and filled with folly, I fell in love with melancholy
Edgar Allen poe

[bigworlds]

I would argue that melancholy is more of an "inside one's mind thing", rather than something fundamentally social. It is associated with wisdom mostly because it is the time in our life when we seek solitude and try to figure things out ourselves, often trying to reason outside of the thinking scheme imposed on us by the society.

[itstitli]

"If you never felt melancholy, you've missed out on part of what it means to be human "❤️

[coachrongetitdone]

King Solomon wrote "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow. "  Ecclesiastes 1

[neemmol]

I have this feeling where I am constantly sad and the way I cure this is by releasing my emotions alone, by spending time alone and reflecting on myself. I sometimes cry while staring at sunsets. And in this way i find peace and calmness

[WWS]

I was an extraordinarily happy child who had never known any sadness. I can remember feeling a little bad from family arguments, mostly powerlessness. But I never knew true emotional pain until I got schizophrenia. Sorrow is the word I like to use, the worst pain there is, loneliness we all feel. I can go from thinking I feel nothing to a great sadness that seems like there's nothing good in it at all.

[luchi.el.zorrito]

Sadness overall is interesting, when meditating, I try not to forget but to let it pass. I think on these issues and I come up with some quick solutions once I get passed the sadness part of those moments. When I play piano when I'm sad I feel like I made a breakthrough in my music, even if it's a small tone change.

Sadness can be useful if you keep your mind steady.

[crazylazyable]

After experiencing a great opera, or a tragic stageplay, I can get very melancholic. And I love it! It is good to feel like that sometimes, and I wouldn`t like to see a world without it.

[percocetpudding]

I thank my deepest sorrows, they have given me the kind of wisdom to help others

[snackmasternat]

the part about language influencing how people feel is so interesting!!

[lilaztec]

I feel melancholic and a sort of chronic sadness. The word Melancholia was the main thing that inspired my latest album “Melancholy”