Before we start this episode, I wanted to let you know that I will be in conversation with the brilliant author and broadcaster Candice Brathwaite at the Lyric in Soho on the 1st of November, talking all about the themes of this podcast and more. You can book tickets at feign.com.uk forward slash Pandora.

History is roughly divided into two camps.

Those who thought sadness was okay and those who thought it was terrible.

Early Egyptian, Chinese and Babylonian civilizations viewed sadness as a form of demonic

possession and used corporal punishment and starvation to try and rid themselves and others

of it.

In ancient Greek and Roman times, doctors prescribed an insta-friendly regime of gymnastics,

massage, special diet and regular baths to alleviate symptoms.

You're listening to doing it right with me, Pandora Sykes, a podcast where I talk to experts about the myths, anxieties and trends of modern life.

There's no such thing as the right life, but what might we be getting wrong?

In this series, I'll be exploring the ins and outs of sex, self-care and sadness,

and lobbing big questions at my guests like,

could a four-day work week ever really take off?

Why is society getting lonelier?

And what would a fair justice system look like? This is a podcast that asks what can we do to live life better, not just for ourselves, but for everyone.

What can sadness tell us about happiness? Helen Russell is a journalist and the author of five books, including How to Live Danishly and the Atlas of Happiness.

Her latest book is How to Be Sad, which explores our fear of sadness and grief in the Western world.

Helen believes that we can't talk about happiness without talking about understanding and making space for sadness.

Helen and I spoke in August where we discussed the

concept of warm glow giving, how raising children not to smile can help them make space for sadness.

What we can learn about sadness from the Russians, who have, unsurprisingly, about 12 different

words for specific types of sadness. We also discuss lots of different happiness theories, like the U-shaped curve and the most

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