要表達傷感，我們除了用 sad、depressed 之外，還可以說：
When I knew that I was not admitted to any of the local universities, I felt gloomy.［憂鬱的］
When I knew that I was not admitted to any of the local universities, I felt glum.［憂鬱的］
Setbacks and adversities made her downcast.［垂頭喪氣的］
Setbacks and adversities made her dispirited.［垂頭喪氣的］

Casual 一點，可以說：
When he heard of the news of the accident, he felt pretty low.
When he heard of the news of the accident, he was really down.

中文我們會用灰色表示不高興的心情，但英文卻用藍色指「憂鬱的」：
The boy felt blue all day.
不要再寫：Don’t be grey anymore.

順帶一提，藍色可以指「色情的」、「猥褻的」，例如：a blue joke 指「色情笑話」，跟中文用黃色來表示色情截然不同。

要表達心情很沉重，可以寫成：
When he heard of the news of the accident, I was so heavy hearted.
The news of the accident left him so grief-stricken.［極度悲傷］

stricken 是 strike 的過去分詞，“-stricken” 指「受……所煎熬」，例如 grief-stricken 可理解成「受悲傷所煎熬的」，其他例子有：
poverty-stricken［受貧窮所煎熬的］
famine-stricken［受飢餓所煎熬的］
terror-stricken［提心吊膽的］
panic-stricken［驚慌失措的］
heart-stricken［悲痛欲絕的］