The Benefits of Crying and Why It's Good for Your Health

We've all tried to hold back tears at some point. We get embarrassed for our emotions and try to suppress them, especially in front of other people. But there's nothing to be ashamed of -- crying is a natural human activity. More so, crying is actually good for you.

If you're like me, you might cry when you're mad or frustrated, or even when you're happy (if I see one sappy commercial, it's instant waterworks). While it's sometimes viewed as a sign of weakness, crying is a healthy coping method. When you need a release to get rid of stress or calm down, a good cry might be just what the doctor ordered.

We explain exactly why you cry and why it's beneficial for your health to let those tears flow.

How tears work

There are three types of tears -- basal, reflex and emotional. Basal tears are always present in the eye -- those are what lubricate and protect your cornea. They are the barrier between your eye and the outside world. Reflex tears are what flush your eyes of harmful irritants, like smoke or onion fumes. They are mostly water and antibodies that combat infection. Emotional tears respond to heightened emotions of joy, sadness or fear. 

All tears are produced by the lacrimal glands located above each eye. When you blink, basal tears are spread across your eye to protect it. Without your noticing, tears drain into the puncta of the eye -- the tiny holes on the corners of your upper and lower eyelids -- and then drain into the nasolacrimal ducts in the nose. Reflexive and emotional crying produce more tears than your natural drainage system can handle. The puncta are only about the size of a grain of rice. That's why tears overflow and run down your face. 

Benefits of crying

The purpose and benefits of emotional tears are an evolving field of study. However, current research shows that proteins and hormones are present in emotional tears, not in basal or reflex tears. This suggests that there are relieving qualities only emotional tears offer. 

It can make you feel better

Crying activates your parasympathetic nervous system, slowing your breathing and heart rate and bringing you relief. When strong emotions come on, crying helps restore you back to your normal balanced state. It's naturally how your body responds. Unfortunately, it's not instant relief -- it takes a few minutes of crying and deep breathing for your heart rate to slow and your body to relax. 

Long periods of crying can also help relieve physical and emotional pain. When you cry, your body releases oxytocin and other endorphins associated with pain relief. Crying is also an important part of the grieving process. Research suggests that it might help you process loss. 

Crying can boost your mood

Crying can also help lift your mood. Unlike reflex and basal tears, emotional tears contain stress hormones as well as the mineral manganese. Manganese is associated with anxiety, irritability and nervousness, so crying is one way to release tension. 

You experience the benefits of crying when you embrace your tears. If you try to hold back and feel shameful about your need to cry, it negatively affects your mood. Trying to keep your emotions and stress inside (that's called repressive coping) is linked to poor immune health, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. 

Crying helps you connect with others

Let's be honest: Crying in front of people is uncomfortable. People don't know if they should comfort or sit beside you while you weep. Awkward as it may be, one of the most significant benefits of crying is social connection. 

Crying helps explain to others what you're feeling and experiencing. It allows people to determine how to react and what you need from them. Crying not only strengthens social connections with others, it also increases empathy, closeness and encourages support from family and friends. Tears prompt other people to offer support, ultimately making you feel better. 

Can you cry too much?

You can't cry too much or too little, and there isn't a recommended amount of crying to be healthy. However, certain conditions cause your eyes to produce too many tears, such as blepharitis or epiphora. Or you can produce too few, in the case of dry eye. Our bodies make fewer tears as we age. Dry eye and irritation are common during hormonal changes including pregnancy and menopause. Some medications or cancer treatments can also limit tear production. 

Crying as a response to heightened emotions is completely normal -- and healthy. However, crying may become a problem if it interferes with your ability to function. Crying for seemingly no reason can be a sign of depression. If you think you have signs of anxiety or depression, talk to your doctor. 

Too long, didn't read?

Crying is a completely healthy way to express emotions. While it's generally associated with sadness, crying can be a sign of healing and processing what you're feeling. You feel better after you cry because you've flushed out toxins and stress hormones. Tears are nothing to be ashamed of, and you shouldn't hold them in. Find the space where you feel comfortable embracing your feelings and crying. It's good for you.

 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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A neuroscientist shares the 6 exercises she does every day to build resilience and mental strength

When I first began researching anxiety in my lab as a neuroscientist, I never thought of myself as an anxious person. That is, until I started noticing the words used by my subjects, colleagues, friends and even myself to describe how we were feeling — “worried,” “on edge,” stressed out,” “distracted,” “nervous,” “ready to give up.”

But what I’ve found over the years is that the most powerful way to combat anxiety is to consistently work on building your resilience and mental strength. Along the way, you’ll learn to appreciate or even welcome certain kinds of mistakes for all the new information they bring you.

Here are six daily exercises I use to build my resilience and mental strength:

1. Visualize positive outcomes

At the beginning or at the end of each day, think through all those uncertain situations currently in your life — both big and small. Will I get a good performance review? Will my kid settle well in his new school? Will I hear back after my job interview?

Now take each of those and visualize the most optimistic and amazing outcome to the situation. Not just the “okay” outcome, but the best possible one you could imagine.

This isn’t to set you up for an even bigger disappointment if you don’t end up getting the job offer. Instead, it should build the muscle of expecting the positive outcome and might even open up ideas for what more you might do to create that outcome of your dreams.

2. Turn anxiety into progress

Our brain’s plasticity is what enables us to be resilient during challenging times — to learn how to calm down, reassess situations, reframe our thoughts and make smarter decisions.

And it’s easier to take advantage of this when we remind ourselves that anxiety doesn’t always have to be bad. Consider the below:

• Anger could block your attention and ability to perform, OR it could fuel and motivate you; sharpen your attention; and serve as a reminder of what’s important.
• Fear could trigger memories of past failures; rob your attention and focus; and undermine your performance, OR it could make you more careful about your decisions; deepen your reflection; and create opportunities for changing direction.
• Sadness could flatten out your mood and demotivate you, OR it could help you reprioritize and motivate you to change your environment, circumstances and behavior.
• Worry could make you procrastinate and get in the way of accomplishing goals, OR it could help you fine-tune your plans; adjust your expectations; and become more realistic and goal-oriented.
• Frustration could stymie your progress and steal your motivation, OR it could innervate and challenge you to do more or better.

These comparisons may seem simplistic, but they point to powerful choices that produce tangible outcomes.

3. Try something new

These days, it’s easier than ever to take a new online class, join a local sports club or participate in a virtual event.

Not too long ago, I joined Wimbledon champ Venus Williams in an Instagram Live workout, where she was using Prosecco bottles as her weights. I’d never done something like that before. It turned out to be a fantastic and memorable experience.

My point is that for free (or only a small fee) you can push your brain and body to try something you never would have considered before. It doesn’t have to be a workout, and it doesn’t have to be hard — it can be something right above your level or just slightly outside of your comfort zone.

4. Reach out

Being able to ask for help, staying connected to friends and family, and actively nurturing supportive, encouraging relationships not only enables you to keep anxiety at bay, but also shores up the sense that you’re not alone.

It isn’t easy to cultivate, but the belief and feeling that you are surrounded by people who care about you is crucial during times of enormous stress — when you need to fall back on your own resilience in order to persevere and maintain your well-being.

When we are suffering from loss or other forms of distress, it’s natural to withdraw. We even see this kind of behavior in animals who are mourning. Yet you also have the power to push yourself into the loving embrace of those who can help take care of you.

5. Practice positive self-tweeting

Lin-Manual Miranda published a book about the tweets he sends out at the beginning and end of each day. In it, he shares what are essentially upbeat little messages that are funny, singsongy and generally delightful.

If you watch him in his interviews, you’ll see an inherently mentally strong and optimistic person. How do you get to be that resilient, productive and creative?

Clearly, part of the answer is coming up with positive reminders. You don’t necessarily need to share them with the public. The idea is to boost yourself up at the beginning and at the end of the day.

This can be difficult for those of us who automatically beat ourselves up at the drop of a hat. Instead, think about what your biggest supporter in life — a partner, sibling, friend, mentor or parent — would tell you, and then tweet or say it to yourself.

6. Immerse yourself in nature

Science has shown again and again that spending time in nature has positive effects on our mental health. A 2015 study, for example, found that it can significantly increased your emotional well-being and resilience.

You don’t need live next to a forest to immerse yourself in nature. A nearby park or any quiet environment with greenery where there aren’t that many people around will work just fine.

Breathe, relax and become aware of the sounds, smells and sights. Use all your senses to create a heightened awareness of the natural world. This exercise boosts your overall resilience as it acts as a kind of restoration of energy and reset to your equilibrium.

Wendy Suzuki, PhD, is a neuroscientist and professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. She is also the author of “Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion.”

 

 This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes