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The Cleansing of Crying

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Posted 12/19/2006 8:28 PM (GMT 0)

 I cry very easily at and about everything. I believe it is because of my depression. I talked to my therapist about it last week and he said it is the people who CAN'T or DON'T cry that he worries about. My daughter mentioned to me last week that she read an article about stress hormones and how they are released during crying. I have always heard that crying is good and is a cleansing of the soul. So, as I always do, I googled and did some research and here are a few good quotes on the subject.

"Dr. William Frey of Minnesota, suggests that crying makes people feel better because emotional tears help rid the body of chemicals that build up as a result of stress. Irritant tears (which Frey produced in his subjects with onion vapors) are chemically different from emotional tears (which he produced by showing sad movies). Emotional tears have more protein in them, including various stress hormones. Other researchers theorize that crying may stimulate the release of endorphins, substances that elevate our mood and relieve pain....

For some people, the fact that crying is seen as a plea for help is reason enough not to cry: it shows vulnerability. But not crying has its own consequences. Whether you cry or not, your stress level still goes up. If you cry and get help or sympathy from those around you, you calm down faster than if you don't cry. Stewing in your own stress juices can harm your health in the long run.

Socially, crying is more acceptable now than it once was. Edmund Muskie lost the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination in 1972 after he cried in public; Bill Clinton cries all the time and nobody seems to care.

So go on, have a good cry. It's all right."

Hugs to all, ~Sylvia
Posted 12/19/2006 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
This is great to know. Thanks for sharing Sylvia.
Posted 12/20/2006 1:58 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for sharing this Sylvia. But I have a question...where do buckets and buckets of tears come from? You'd think by now I'd be dry as a well. My depression expresses itself in anxiety and CRYING SPELLS. They crying is sooooo painful though it is at those times that I imagine ending my life. I have always been somebody who is sensitive and I try to hold it all together and then when I get to a place where I can cry, I do. The stress of holding in all of my emotions is bad. If I don't have a release I get terrible stomach aches. Our body really does try to tell us what we need but often times we insist on thinking that something astronomical is wrong with us.My ex-husband told me that he had not cried since college and that was 15 years ago. That did worry me.
Posted 12/20/2006 3:56 AM (GMT 0)
Sylvia,
I haven't posted in awhile and have never met you. I can identify with the tears. I've cried a lot yesterday. I feel like it was a final result of the built up anger and frustratiton and anger in me concening the things in my life that I have no control over. It was much like a release. Today I shut myself off from the rest of the world, turned off the phone, rested, didn't do anything I did not have to do and did not allow anyone, even myself to put an expectation on me.
I talked to my brother in Colorado last night who is a therapist. He took me through an exercise in my mind and inside myself that was very helpful. It helped me calm down and have some clarity. Tonight I feel differently and more peaceful. I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I only know that today is all I have. I am trying to stop obsessing about my children's lives, the seemingly unsolvable problems in my life, and my need to sabatoge and keep myself in this place of pain and suffering. I know I must feel and be with these emotions and tears. There is a reason for them.
There is guilt, shame, grief and so many things assoicated with the feelings of sadness and anger I have, I know that much. But I do not have to solve all that today.

I too believe the tears are healing. I hate the headache..lol afterwards, but there is some sort of physical relief.

Blessings, Peace and Wellness to all,

Judy
Posted 12/20/2006 11:35 AM (GMT 0)

Thank you for the posting Sylvia.  I have to say that I have a difficult time crying due to my antidepressant I think.  However, after mass on Sunday I had something that had been weighting on my mind, that had been there for a long time, and I broke down afterwards and cried quite a bit.  I did feel better....
Posted 12/23/2006 1:27 AM (GMT 0)
I too can't seen to cry as often as I would like too due to the antidepressant I am on. I remember every month during PMS I would either have a rageing fit throwing things including "F" bombs and or crying. The release and relief felt afterwards was strangely nice. When i do cry, it is over so suddenly.

I recently visited my daughter in Florida who moved there 7 months ago. When I was on the bus to go back to the airport, I felt weird NOT crying. She, was. I told her to be strong, I guess she thought that was what I was doing. I felt bad that I couldn't cry. I hope she didn't think that because I didn't cry, that I was not going to miss her as much as she would miss me. Crying can mean so much more than just sadness. Her Dad would cry at Disney movies. I always thought he was weak, but I think he was hormonally challenged. A topic for another post.
Posted 12/23/2006 7:51 AM (GMT 0)
I am on 2 anti-depressants - Wellbutrin (300mg) and Lexapro (5mg).  I am severely depressed and I cry all of the time.  I hurt so much inside.  Is it possible that I am not on enough medicine?  For those of you who said you don't cry b/c of your meds, which meds do you take and what miligram?  I want to feel that way - undepressed.  Isn't that what anti-depressants are supposed to do?  Please help.
Posted 12/23/2006 12:46 PM (GMT 0)
dear hopeful, I am on 40mg of Celexa. But different meds work differently for different people. You need to discuss your concern with your medical professional. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right mix.

I find if I back off of the caffiene, that I am alot better also. I know if I would drop below 3 cups of java a day, I would probably need less Celexa since some of my problem is anxiety related. However, me like some I have talked to, like the 'kick' of some anxiety.

When I was 12 years old to 18, my Mom was on Valium and or Lithium. She had several shock treatments for her depression. I would come home from school and she was drugged out on the couch. Not much of a mother that a young teen girl needed. I vowed that I would never be like that. I don't believe that she had the right doctor and also back 30years ago the mind set was different for the medical community too. I heard my Dad tell her to just shut up and take a pill over, and over again. Family support is very important also.

I have also found that if I stay active, I feel much better. I have a treadmill and try to use it daily. I also live in the midwest and winter can be depressing so I have a SAD light.

Hopeful, you will find the right 'mix' soon. Just hang in there!
Posted 12/23/2006 7:35 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you, Punky. I only drink one 1/2 caff coffee each day b/c caffeine can be a migraine trigger. I think that my thoughts are also making my depression worse. I have been in a whole for a long time - physical pain, unemployment, need to move but can't find a roommate. I worry about a lot of things and it seems like one things after another keeps happening. I was taken off of the SSRI and I went way down again so I'm hoping that by going back on it I will get better.

I'm sorry to hear about your Mom and your childhood. Everyone it seems has some awful dysfunction in their home life to overcome. I also think that mental illness is hereditary. I'm so glad that you are determined to help yourself. I do need to exercise more.
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