'In any human life there are going to be periods of unhappiness. Learning how to be sad is a natural first step in how to be happier' Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute

Helen Russell

We live in an age when reality TV shows climax in a tearful finale. But feeling sad - genuinely sad - is still taboo. Yet, sadness happens to us all, sometimes in heartbreakingly awful ways. If we don't know how to be sad, it can be isolating for those experiencing it and baffling for those trying to help others through dark times.