Sad

Sad is an emotion available in The Sims 4. It generally occurs when a Sim experiences sad or traumatizing situations. This emotion can evolve into Very Sad with enough moodlet points. Sad Sims will autonomously cry from time to time and are unable to perform certain activities.^[which?]

Stages

• Sad: 1-2, 1 for Teens
• Very Sad: 3+, 2+ for Teens

Interactions and Activities

Sims will only have a chance to use these interactions and do these activities while sad.

Interactions

• Complain about Problems
• Ask for Advice
• Gloomy Compliment
• Attempt to Flirt
• Express Melancholy Thoughts (Sims with the Gloomy trait only)
• Send sad text (using their phone - more often than not, the recipient messages back inviting the sad Sim to their place to be cheered up.)

Activities

• Give Yourself a Pep Talk (Mirror)
• Blog About Feelings (Computer)
• Read Obituaries (Computer)
• Call Sadness Hotline (Phone)
• Play with Emotion (Instrument/Toys)
• Express Melancholy Thoughts (Private Journal)^[TS4:PH]
• Swim Around Sadly (Pool)
• Cry it Out (Bed/Closet)
• Water Plant with Tears (Plants - Requires Level 2 Gardening Skill)
• Cry (Self - Teens or younger only, or if Sim has the Uncontrolled Emotions trait)
• Ask Sim for Food And Drink (Toddlers only)

In addition to above activities, the following will help relieve Sadness (also available to Sims that don't feel Sad at the moment):

• Applying the Sadness Alleviation Lotion ^[TS4:OR]
• Wearing the Celestial Crystal Crown with mounted Orange Topaz ^[TS4:GF]

Interactions on sad Sims

Sims will only have a chance to use these interactions with a sad Sim.

• Try to Cheer Up
• Console About Death
• You'll Be Okay (to for toddlers, children, and teens only)
• Discuss Sad Mood
• Mock Sadness (children and teens only, or if Sim has the Insensitive trait)

Supportive Traits and Events

Supportive Traits

These traits affect how often a Sim is sad:

• Gloomy Sims will receive a +1 moodlet occasionally
• Family Oriented Sims will become sad if they do not interact with family members for some time
• Good Sims will become sad when interacting with an Evil Sim
• Jealous Sims will get +1 moodlet if they are near a couple
• Insider Sims will become sad if they do not interact with friends for a time
• Ambitious Sims will be very sad when losing a job or getting fired from their job
• Outgoing Sims get a sad moodlet when they haven't interacted with others
• Calm (infants only) - infants with this trait will more likely be sad than angry if their basic needs (e.g. hunger, energy, fun, attention) are not met or if their parents leave the house. Calm infants who become ravenous will be very sad but the timer to resolve their needs does not appear
• Clingy (toddlers only) - toddlers with this trait will more likely be sad than angry if their basic needs (e.g. hunger, energy, fun, attention) are not met or if their parents leave the house. Clingy toddlers who become ravenous will be very sad but the timer to resolve their needs does not appear
• Angelic (toddlers only) - toddlers with this trait will more likely be sad than angry if their basic needs (e.g. hunger, energy, fun, attention) are not met. Angelic toddlers who become ravenous will be very sad but the timer to resolve their needs does not appear
• Vegetarian Sims will be sad when eating meat food
• Cat Lovers will become sad when a cat friend dies or gets taken away^[TS4:C&D]
• Dog Lovers will become sad when a dog friend dies or gets taken away^[TS4:C&D]
• Child of the ocean Sims will become sad if they haven't partaking aquatic activities for a long time, caught a fish via fishing, and/or witnessing mounted fish décor by autonomously mourning them.^[TS4:IL]
• Maker Sims will become sad if they haven't fabricated something for a long time.^[TS4:EL]
• Animal enthusiast Sims will become sad if they haven't interact livestock animals for a long time.^[TS4:CLV]
• Child of the village Sims will become sad if they're missing Tomarani community for a long time.^[TS4:FR]
• Generous Sims will become sad when using mean interactions.^[TS4:FR]

Supportive Events

These events may lead to a sad moodlet regardless of a Sim's traits:

• Witnessing a death - Sims will get a +5 Sad moodlet for approximately 48 hours. This happens even if the grieving Sim does not have a close relationship to the deceased Sim. Family members who were not in the same room as the deceased Sim at the time of death are not affected.
• Mourning a grave - Sims will get a sad moodlet for four hours after mourning someone's grave
• Break-up/divorce. Toddlers and children become heartbroken if they watch a break-up/divorce.
• Ex-partners will feel sad and very sad after the break-up/divorce respectively. Not applicable to noncommittal Sims.
• A Sim's significant other having an affair
• Unsuccessful Try for Baby (Young Adult and Adult female Sims only [unless the Sim also Hates Children])
• Unsuccessful social events - host Sims who do not get at least a bronze prize at the end of the event
• Infants and Toddlers having low fun or hygiene needs
• Tired Of Words (Toddlers that learned to talk only)
• Newborn babies (Toddlers and Children sometimes get a sad or angry moodlet when they meet a new younger sibling)
• Potty accident (Toddlers only)
• Too much time doing skill-boosting activities (Toddlers only)
• Having nightmares (Toddlers only)
• Having a dream crushed too many (makes Toddlers cry)
• Being near a smashed dollhouse (causes Toddlers, Children & Childish Sims to cry)
• Child Sim or younger whisked away to safety
• Unsuccessful chance card outcomes from school/work
• Getting fired
• Low social need (not applicable to Infants, Toddlers, or Loner Sims)
• Viewing a Sad painting
• Being near the Tragic Clown
• Being homesick while on vacation
• Receiving Fake Bad News (this only affects Sims with the Gloomy trait)
• Losing a game (especially Don't Wake the Llama)
• Voodoo Dolls on Fizzle
• Consuming a Sad Magic Bean
• Wearing the Sad Panda Hat (The Sims 4 Digital Deluxe)
• Consuming Noxious Elderberry ^[TS4:OR]
• Getting kicked out of a club (Teens only) ^[TS4:GT]
• Losing a Basketball Game (Gloomy Sims only) ^[TS4:CL]
• Romance Guru ^[TS4:CL]
• Romance Festival (5th time the Sim gets showered with petals) ^[TS4:CL]
• Failing a protest ^[TS4:CL]
• Destroyed School project ^[TS4:PH]
• Mood Swing (Teens and Sims with the Uncontrolled Emotions trait only) ^[TS4:PH]
• Chance of Sad buff when timeouts end for children and teens ^[TS4:PH]
• Creepy slide (sometimes toddlers will feel sad after going down a slide) ^[TS4:TS]
• Pets being taken away or being put up for adoption ^[TS4:C&D]
• Scared of Thunderstorms (only happens to toddlers as children, teens, and adults will instead get Scared) ^[TS4:S]
• Unfulfilled holiday tasks ^[TS4:S]
• Suffering the side effect of the Potion of Prompt Resurrection ^[TS4:ROM]
• Not being accepted into any Distinguished Degrees after applying for University ^[TS4:DU]
• Losing a sports team competition ^[TS4:DU]
• Consuming Grimbucha (Death Flower kombucha) ^[TS4:EL]
• Being near broken electronics with Techie lifestyle ^[TS4:SE]
• Posting a sad comment on Social Bunny ^[TS4:HSY]
• Expelled from high school ^[TS4:HSY]
• Cooking using a pressure cooker resulted in poor food quality meal ^[TS4:FR]
• Experienced heartbreaks (will result in death by heartbreak if a Sim is continuously failing any romantic-related events and interactions)^[TS4:L]

Object auras

• Sad paintings (made by Sims having sad emotion or having the Expressionist Aspiration Reward Trait) have the sadness aura and, if Emotional Aura is enabled, they affect Sims that are in the same room as the painting.
• Flower arrangements scented with Dahlia ^[TS4:S]

The following objects emit an aura that makes Sadness fade:

• Jewelry and gemstones crafted from Alabaster. Jewelry effects are only active when being worn, and gemstones only active when Sims are nearby them. ^[TS4:CCS]

Careers and jobs

No career benefits from the Sim being sad or has it as their ideal emotion.

Trivia

• The regular Sad emotion can play one of two stings: one that is similar to the Very Sad one and another one which is very short and was taken from the very end of the "object breaks" sound in The Sims 3. It is the only emotion in the game to have multiple stings.
• Very Sad is known as "Depressed" internally. This was also the name used in the official gameplay trailer.

Gallery

A Sad Sim

A Very Sad Sim

A Sim pecking

A Sad Sim

Sad emotion sometimes trigger this 'crying with tears' idle animation

A Sim crying while painting

The Depressed Emotion taken from the official gameplay trailer.

A Sad infant.

Audio