Why Do We Cry? 7 Psychological Benefits of Tears

Do you think crying makes you weaker? Do you feel that crying is bad? Nothing is further from reality! Discover the benefits of crying and the advantages that crying brings to our psyche.

Crying is not for cowards. Despite this, we tend to flee from sadness and crying as if these were our worst enemies. So much so that on many occasions when we end up crying we even feel weak and vulnerable. Cry It is not bad at all, although a large part of popular wisdom believes it so.

Why do we cry?

Normally it is avoided by all means to notice when one is not happy since we avoid negative emotions at all costs. The problem arises since we cannot escape from something that we carry inside and that is essential for people.

Sadness is a primary emotion and, therefore, it is necessary for every human being. The problem is that we insist on hiding it because we don’t like the sadness and its meaning Despite this, sadness helps us detect something that is not going well, that we do not like, that we have to change or simply accept. Feeling sad and crying is a sign that you need to change something that is wrong with you.

There are problems that can be solved and put an end to crying It helps you realize and resolve it. On the other hand, there are other problems that cannot be solved (such as the loss of a loved one) and in that case the only option is to vent and release the pain, letting the emotion flow and allowing the necessary time to recover.

In this way, we could say that crying It is a natural response to a wide variety of emotions that we can feel at a given moment. Among the main reasons why a person expresses themselves through crying we can find sadness, pain, joy and frustration.

Crying is good and it has also been shown that men and women cry much more than what can be seen at first glance. The funny thing about crying is that we are the only animals that cry. Despite this, there are a series of benefits of crying that allow us a greater advantage over other species that do not have this ability.

Why do we avoid crying?

The tears They serve the function of releasing tension from the body. We cry when we feel great joy, when we put ourselves in other people’s shoes, we cry out of anger, helplessness and we also cry out of sadness. Whenever we do it it is because we have a lot of accumulated emotion and we need to expel it. This expulsion from the body is done through tears and when it occurs, it generates relief and well-being. Our body acts with emotions as if it were a reservoir. When it reaches its maximum capacity, it needs to open the gates and let the water flow in order to continue accumulating for the next rains.

Furthermore, the tears They help reduce anxiety, make us consistent with what we feel, tense and relax our body and make us eliminate toxins. As you can see, crying and allowing yourself to be sad is brave because it makes you face what you feel. We censor ourselves from a young age because adults impose it on us and we end up incorporating it into our value system from very early on. Not showing negative emotions makes us proud people who do not recognize our own sensitivity. Being sensitive does not mean being weak, it means being human. Therefore, crying is good for our emotional health.

“Accept, it’s not resignation, but nothing makes you lose more energy than resisting and fighting against something you can’t change.”

Dalai Lama

Benefits of crying

Now that you know what causes crying and why we cry, it is important to highlight the benefits of crying. Although we avoid at all costs being in the situation of a crying person, crying is good for many reasons. Here we will show you the most important ones for your psychological and mental health.

1. Calming effect

Cry with emotion, cry with joy or cry a lot Through sadness it allows us to relieve ourselves of all the emotions that we have accumulated in our body. So much so that by crying the body manages to regulate the feelings we have and reduce the anguish we may feel in a specific situation. In this way, various studies have shown that crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps us relax.

2. You get support from others

Go to crying Sometimes it can mean breaking a barrier in front of others. In this way, sometimes a crying person not only tries to self-soothe, but also tries to seek help from others. In this way, getting the support of others allows us to have certain social or intrapersonal benefits that may be of great help to overcome certain obstacles in our lives.

3. Helps relieve pain

The tears Not only do they have a self-soothing effect, but when we cry our body releases both oxytocin and endorphins. These two chemicals allow us to feel better and help us relieve our physical and emotional pain. Therefore, by allowing ourselves to cry we are helping ourselves to face certain difficult situations.

4. Improves mood

Many times crying and crying They manage to make us feel better and lift our spirits. This is why sometimes people can cry with joy because the body seeks to improve our mood and bring it to maximum happiness.

5. Releases toxins and relieves stress

sometimes we end crying due to a response to the excess stress we are suffering. So much so that our tears contain the so-called stress hormone among other chemicals. In this way, researchers have been able to verify that crying could reduce the levels of these precise substances in the body and therefore, we would reduce stress.

6. Helps us sleep

It has been proven that crying It can allow us to enjoy sleep more and even combat insomnia caused by anxiety, depression and stress. This is due to all the calming effects that tears have on our body.

7. Helps to have more emotional strength

When a person cries, what you are doing is recognizing each of your emotions and facing them head on. On the contrary, in cases where individuals avoid or ignore negative feelings, these types of attitudes can be harmful to their mental health and even cause anxiety or certain depressive disorders. When we accept our emotions, we are trying to overcome our negative thoughts and find a solution to this situation.

Are there consequences of crying a lot?

Despite all the benefits of crying that we may encounter, the reality is that when a person tends to cry for no reason or cry a lot it may mean that they suffer from some psychological disorder. So much so that when someone cries in pain repetitively this can signal the following diseases.

• Depression

He excess sadness and a negative attitude can lead to depression. In these cases, people may not have faced these negative emotions in a timely manner. Therefore, these have evolved and crying is used to try to relieve them.

• Anxiety

Anxiety, like depression, are two of the most worrying diseases of our current era. When someone suffers from anxiety, anguish and panic attacks can become two of their most faithful companions. That is why these individuals can end up crying for almost any reason.

• Traumas

Traumas are past experiences that have caused a shock to our memory. So much so that these can influence our adult lives much more than we think. In these cases, it resort to crying to try to forget that past that disturbs us.

• Low self-esteem

One of the reasons why people they can cry a lot, is precisely not accepting themselves and suffering from low self-esteem. In these cases, individuals feel insecure and that ends up being an obstacle to trying to achieve each of their successes or purposes.

Crying can have many implications. When you are there to face certain emotions, your character is positive. On the other hand, on some occasions it can mean that we are facing a problem that we cannot overcome. In these cases, you may require the help of a psychology professional. It is because of that when we cry We are signaling to ourselves either that we are on a bad path or that we must accept these emotions to overcome them and benefit from them.