Table of contents:
- Why is crying often seen as a negative thing?
- Benefits of frequent crying for mental health
- 1. Resistant from stress
- 2. Reduce pain
- 3. Good for health
- Crying often is a sign that you are tough
Crying is a natural human way to reduce feelings of sadness and frustration. Unfortunately, more and more people are choosing to hold back tears and pretend that all is well - so as not to be called weak thanks to stereotypes in society that view crying as a negative thing.
In fact, crying is not only able to reduce stress and improve your feelings, but the benefits of crying can also help you maintain a healthy body. In fact, recent studies have shown that crying often can strengthen you mentally. Why, how come?
Why is crying often seen as a negative thing?
Have you ever wondered why crying is more often associated with feminine traits? Women indeed cry more easily than men, but not by reason of being weepy or weak. The reason is because women have more prolactin than men. Prolactin is a hormone that is involved in stress and plays a role in the immune system and other body functions.
So, is it true that too easy or crying often indicates that you are a “really girl” or weak person?
Researchers have shown that the actual effect of crying depends on what caused it. Emotional crying (due to anxiety or mood disorders) has a more positive impact than crying that is non-emotional.
Benefits of frequent crying for mental health
Here are some of the benefits of crying that can prove that people who cry often or easily are mentally tough as steel:
1. Resistant from stress
Tears are therapeutic, and crying is catharsis which is a technique for channeling pent up emotions. Even though crying can't solve problems, change situations, or bring someone back into your life. However, crying has been scientifically proven to make you feel better. Crying is a process of healing the body from emotional stress. By crying, the stress chemicals that build up during your intense stress can be rinsed clean through the tears.
2. Reduce pain
Some studies claim that crying can reduce pain. This is because crying can lead to physical contact with individuals and other touches (such as being hugged, or rubbing their back to soothe them) which has been linked to increased feelings of comfort and well-being. A study conducted by a group of scientists from Tilburg University in the Netherlands showed that both men and women are happy to provide more emotional support to someone who is crying.
3. Good for health
Crying does not only affect mental or emotional health, but also physical health. Crying can release hormones that make you feel better, and can lower levels of the hormone manganese which causes extreme anxiety and stress if too much of it builds up in your body. Crying can also moisturize the eyes, prevent dehydration, kill bacteria, and get rid of harmful toxins in the body.
Crying often is a sign that you are tough
Many people (maybe including you) prefer to ignore the emotions they are feeling. In fact, ignoring negative feelings is not good for your mental health. Ignoring negative feelings can actually cause them to build up in your mind, which can lead to anxiety and depression. As a result, the dam of negative feelings actually prevents you from carrying out your daily routine.
Crying is not a sign of weakness. Men and women, children and adults alike: Cry if you really want to cry. There is no need to be ashamed or afraid of being ridiculed weakly because crying is a natural thing to do. Sadness, pain, depression, crying - these are all natural reactions of the human body.
In essence, frequent crying is not a sign that you are a crybaby, weak, and incapable of dealing with life-salt acid problems. Instead, crying is a sign that you have other solutions to deal with these various problems, without intending to run away from problems. By crying, you can actually feel more prepared and resilient to face problems.
By crying, you have succeeded in showing your vulnerable side - where you can not only be free to be yourself, but also show other people that crying is normal, so that they will feel more comfortable doing the same. By doing so, you have contributed to a more authentic, free and healthier society.
