Have you ever felt happy and sad at the same time?

Question

One way to define the word "opposite" is this: X and Y are opposites if the more X something is, the less Y it is; and vice versa. An object cannot be up if it is down, it can't be hot if it is cold, and it can't be black if it's white.

On a related subject, many of our feelings have opposites. I have never felt hungry when I felt full, I have never felt bored when I was exited, and have never felt tired when I felt rested.

But there are some emotions which appear to be opposites that you can feel at the same time. I have very distinct memories of being happy and sad at the same time. For instance, when I graduated, I was happy that I had achieved so much, and sad because I'd have to leave my friends and prepare for life after school. If happy and sad were opposites, it would seem they would have cancelled each other out. I would have felt somewhere in between happy and sad. But instead I remember very acute sorrow COMBINED with sharp happiness. How is that possible? Does this mean happy and sad aren't opposites.

Answer 1

emotions run on a spectrum and aren't objects that can be classified as X or Y

I don't think being hungry is an emotion...nor is being tired

I can be bored with my life and excited about what might be happening later that day...

Don't know if that makes any sense....but do you see what I mean?

Answer 2

They are .. But .. deep feelings should meet their opposites at some point to be true as I define them ..  

Answer 3

If your glad you had a nice experience, your not glad that it's finished.

If your annoyed you had a bad experience, your glad that it's finished.

This is the closest thing I think.

Snow Man

Answer 4

I have felt happy and sad at the same time and would define that as "bittersweet". I believe there are some emotions that can be felt simultaneously with another. I do not see happy and sad as opposites as you have asked. It may seem that way because you can define happy as up and sad and down, but when you are dealing with the emotional realm things can become rather complex. You stated you have never felt hungry and full at the same time. This was because that was a physiological aspect; where as, emotional aspects can be so varied and really are a cause and effect depending upon the situation.

Answer 5

I have never felt one emotion at a time. Happy sad and indifferent are linked like siamese triplets.

And Yahoo saith:

"Tip: Be as specific and detailed as you can. Use any personal experience or knowledge you might have."

"You can use research to help support your answer."

"Hmm...it looks like you have a lot of punctuation."

"Oops! It looks like you have 1 misspelling(s)." The word Hmmm.

"Oops! It looks like you have 2 misspelling(s)."

"Please correct your spelling."

Answer 6

...yes, happy i won, sad you lost...

Answer 7

make it a game, then

feel happy, sad, anxious, excited...as many emotions as you can all at once

juggle them all

when you get tired, stop

feel what you feel

but do what's necessary to stay in the game

Answer 8

Happy and sad are two sides of the same coin, one can not exist without the other. What would be joy if there wasn't sorrow?

Answer 9

You think to much!....just kidding. I think we have all felt happy and sad at the same time, but I don't think that being happy and sad are the same except that they are both complex emotions. Thankfully, there is no black or white answer to this for we are complex individuals.