Sadness is unpleasant , and in a society where personal happiness is prized above all else , there is little tolerance for falling in despair.Especially now we ’ ve got drugs for getting rid of sad feelings—whether it ’ s after losing a job , the break­up of a relationship or the death of a loved one.So it ’ s no surprise that more and more people are taking them. But is this really such a good idea ? A growing number of voices from the world of mental health research are saying it isn ’ t.They fear that the increasing tendency to treat normal sadness as a disease is playing fast and loose ( 行为轻率 ) . Sadness , they argue , serves a useful purpose—and if we lose it , we lose out.Yet many psychiatrists ( 精神病医生 ) insist not.Sadness has a nasty habit of turning into depression ( 抑郁症 ) , they warn.Even when people are sad for good reason , they should take drugs to make themselves feel better. So who is right ? Is sadness something we cannot live without or something horrible never to touch? There are lots of ideas about why feeling sad should become part of human life.It may be a self­protection strategy , as other primates ( 灵长类 ) also show signs of sadness.A losing monkey that doesn ’ t show sadness after it loses a fight may be seen as continuing to challenge the winning monkey—and that could result in death. In humans , sadness has a further function : we may display sadness as a form of communication.By acting sad , we tell other community members that we need support. Then there is the idea that creativity is connected to dark moods.There are plenty of great artists , writers and musicians who have suffered from depression or disorder.Scientists find that people with signs of depression perform better at a creative task , and that negative moods make people think deeply over the unhappy experience , which allows creative processes to come to the front.There is also evidence that too much happiness can be bad for your career.A doctor found that people who scored 8 out of 10 on a happiness test were more successful in income and education than 9s or 10s.The happiest people lose their willingness to make changes to their lives that may benefit them.