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Why Cry ? – Part 2

SITE : “Happy Crying – why does it happen?”

 

PURPOSEs for CRYING
1. Detoxify the body – The 3 types of tears are reflex , continuous, emotional. Reflex & continuous tears contain 98% water, but emotional tears contain stress hormones & other toxins. Researchers say that crying flushes these things out of your system

2. Dull pain
When you’re physically hurt causing pain, crying is a natural response. This can signal that you’re in distress & need or want someone to help you.  Physical pain causes the body stress, & crying can release stress hormone cortisol, which helps to recover from the experience.

Crying for long periods releases oxytocin & endogenous opioids, ie. endorphins. These feel-good chemicals help ease both physical & emotional pain, especially oxytocin which gives a sense of calm or well-being. Once released, your body may go into a temporary numbness, providing a time to heal.

3. Self-soothe
Crying is be one of the best self-soothing mechanisms. Researchers have found that it activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), the physical part of us that helps the body digest & rest. However, the benefits aren’t immediate. It may take several minutes of shedding tears before you feel the soothing effects of crying. 2014 research also found that tears lower cortisol, easing stress.

4. Improve mood
Along with easing pain, crying – specifically sobbing – may even lift your spirits. When you sob, you take in many quick breaths of cool air. which can help regulate & even lower the brain’s temperature. A cool brain is feels better to your body & mind than a warm one., so your mood may improve after a sobbing episode

5. Recover from grief
Grieving is a process. It involves periods of sorrow, numbness, guilt, & anger.
Crying is particularly important during grieving episodes, because it can help to process & accept the loss of a loved one.

Everyone goes through the grieving process in different ways.
Depression is different than sadness – which is an emotion, while depression is a mental health condition. One symptom of depression is frequent crying.  Extreme or long-lasting crying which starts to interfere with your everyday life may need medical help.

6. Rally Social Support
From the time you were a baby, crying has been an attachment behavior.  As an adult, when feeling blue, crying is a way to let those around you know you need comfort & support. This article suggests that tears are a way to silently signal distress to people close by us.

This is known as an inter-personal benefit. This helps to build a social support network when the going gets tough. People tend to feel more empathetic to those who cry. A comprehensive research study of 7,007 participants found that people exposed to faces with-or-without tears were more likely to support those that were tearful.

Researchers propose that crying can be a form of social bonding for some. It seems that someone who is tearful is experienced as being ‘warm’, making the observer feel connected to them.
An other study showed that there are pheromones in tears that lower testosterone & aggression when smelled. So it literally changes how people react to you, a way of chemical communication.

It may also a truth check. EXP : If it’s inconvenient for me to help you, I might dismiss your complaints. But if you’re also shedding tears I’m more likely to take you seriously even if iI really don’t want to pay attention, because I know they’re hard to fake 😓(for most people).

7. Restore emotional balance
Crying does not only happen in response to something sad. You can cry when extremely happy, very scared or very angry, which can be your body’s way to recover from experiencing such a strong emotion. Researchers at Yale University believe that crying in those situations helps to restore emotional equilibrium.

8. To express joy
Crying isn’t only reserved for times when in physical or emotional pain. Many people also cry when extremely happy, including times of intense laughter. Leaking tears when you’re excited, touched, relieved, deeply grateful…..  – is healthy. This is common during positive life events such as a child’s birth or at weddings.

NEXT : Why Cry? Part 4