A closer look
Trying to explain sadness to an optimist is like trying to explain color to a rock. The hot-cold empathy gap is a cognitive bias where people underestimate the influence of visceral drives on their own attitudes. When you are in a 'cold' (rational or happy) state, your brain literally lacks the neural imagination to comprehend how crippling a 'hot' (depressed or furious) state feels, resulting in highly unhelpful advice like 'just cheer up!'






