When we cry our body releases healing chemicals to make us feel better. This is perhaps one of the most important reasons that we have the ability to cry at all. When we hold back our tears we prevent ourselves from benefiting from the natural process of receiving this chemical balancing help.
Holding in stress and sadness is thought to be a very unhealthy behaviour from a medical and emotional point of view, and yet we are sometimes embarrassed to cry in front of others lest we be seen as weak. We also associate crying with babies who require attention and don’t want to be thought of as attention seeking when we open the floodgates where others can witness the act of us doing so.
Men are more likely to feel the social pressure that surrounds crying, as it has long been imagined that letting tears flow is more of a feminine trait. Therefore men, and boys, may refrain from crying because they have the added dimension of needing to retain their masculinity in front of others.
When an individual cries on a regular basis this is often their bodies way of attempting to sooth them through a stressful period of their lives. This is why one of the observable symptoms of severe depression is constant, and often uncontrollable, crying.
For health reasons it is best to cry as and when you feel the natural need to do so. However, some people much prefer to keep their tears private and to cry in the safety of their own homes or in other private places so that they keep their sadness and anxiety secret from the rest of the world.
We have a natural urge to wait until we feel safe and secure before crying, often waiting until we are within arms reach of a close and loving friend or family member before letting go emotionally. This is because when we cry we are vulnerable and need to be able to let the crying process flow without having to worry about our safety.
If we cry when in a frightening situation we may experience our tears as adding to our bad experience, rather than being a means of relieving our stress. The insecurity of the situation makes us battle with our tears as we attempt to stay on top of the situation at hand. This can be difficult because crying is about letting go, whereas staying in control requires that we keep hold of our emotions.
Because of this we are better off crying when we are with people who love and support us, thus aiding the healing affect that crying brings. Crying in front of people who we feel threatened by, strangers or when on our own may not help us as much as when we experience a sense of emotional holding that can only come from people who we are close to.
