8 Reasons why you should embrace your ugly cry
- Coach Kim
- Jun 15, 2020
- 3 min read
Written by KimMiller
Edited by Kristine Sultmanis
I come from a family where embracing your emotions is considered healthy and normal. Over the years, I have noticed that crying makes some people feel very uncomfortable. I cry for everything. I cry when I am mad. I cry when I am sad. I cry when I feel loved and I cry when I am happy. I often think about all the blessings I have in my life, and then I cry! My kids have seen me cry a thousand times. Although they are still young, they now know to ask me why I am crying before freaking out. This article is my way to express to you why I think you should embrace your cry, even when it is ugly!
Reason 1: Crying has a calming and soothing effect
In the crazy and stressful world we are living in, crying can actually help balance your emotions and drop your level of stress. I often find myself crying when I have panic attack. When I calm down, I feel relaxed and ready to think clearly.
Reason 2: Crying helps you go through the stage of grief
When my mom past away, I tried to hold my tears and smile thinking this would help my dad. To be honest, the day I finally cried and expressed my anger and sadness, was the day my grieving process really started. My dad and I cried together. Sometimes we cried because we felt sad and sometimes we cried because we felt happy reflecting on the best memories we had with her. If you are grieving someone or something, do not be afraid to cry. If you keep it inside, you will only prolong your grieving process.
Reason 3: Crying can help you connect with others
People are more likely to respond to physical signs of distress or sadness, than if someone were to just express their emotions verbally. I do not recommend you using cry as a manipulation technique but if you have the need to cry in front of someone, do not hold it. You may need this person help but you just do not know it.
Reason 4: Crying is a natural medicine against pain
Many studies show that crying actually release pain. In fact, shedding emotional tears releases oxytocin and endorphins. I wrote about the effect of endorphins is a previous article; endorphins mask the pain in your brain and gives you a feeling of well-being.
Reason 5: Crying can help you sleep better
An article released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, explain that babies that cry before sleep tend to have a better night’s sleep. Adults can benefit from this as well. I remember going through my divorce and crying myself to sleep. Often this would result in a very deep sleep and I would wake up feeling refreshed. In part, because I felt exhausted, but also because I had released all my frustrations and pain.
Reason 6: Crying can improve your vision
Every time you blink, basal tears lubricate your eyes. Crying is an afflux of tears that washes your eyes and keep them moist. It helps your eyes to stay healthy and can improve your vision.
Reason 7: Crying can help you find emotional balance
It does not matter if you are crying because of happiness or sadness. When your body releases strong emotions it can help you reach a healthy emotional balance. Instead of bottling up your emotions, you can release them and that is what helps you achieve a healthy balance.
Reason 8: Crying release toxins from your body
According to Healthline.com[1], there are three different types of tears:
· reflex tears
· continuous tears
· emotional tears
Reflex tears clear debris from your eyes. Continuous tears lubricate your eyes and help protect them from infection. Emotional tears may have many health benefits. Whereas continuous tears contain 98% water, emotional tears contain stress hormones and other toxins. Some researchers believe that crying can flushes these things out of your system.
Although crying is healthy, you should be aware that excessive crying without the emotional control could be a sign of depression. If you feel overwhelmed and hopeless, you should talk to a health professional. I hope this article helped you feel more confident about expressing your feelings. Best advice I can give you is to buy waterproof makeup and embrace your emotions!
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