This year, I experienced a quiet Fourth of July.\u00a0 I enjoyed the liberty of watching coverage of this fully American Holiday from home, with the independence to choose which television channel to watch the nation celebrate. I was struck with the beauty and passion of the celebration, but also with the amazingly diverse ways people celebrated.\u00a0 I saw looks of pure awe and jubilation.\u00a0\u00a0 There were those that cheered as if they just won the lottery.\u00a0\u00a0 And then, there were the folks from the water department.\u00a0 Yes, the criers.<\/p>\n
Why do some people cry with almost any strong emotion and others almost never do? \u00a0\u00a0The answer to this simple question is complicated.\u00a0 The hardest and most powerful amongst us may cry at watching the next underdog American Idol accept the crown while the most sensitive laughs at the show where Zombies take over the world.\u00a0 Does this make sense?\u00a0 Not really, so please don’t feel alone in your tearful confusion.<\/p>\n
Crying has been studied extensively and is still not totally understood.\u00a0 Some things have been proven.\u00a0 Women in the USA cry more frequently (and publicly) than men. \u00a0I would argue that a man who is angry and being “macho” during a sad or bad time, is crying in a most primitive way.\u00a0 We live in a culture where men are not supposed to cry.\u00a0\u00a0 (This is changing, but excruciatingly slow).<\/p>\n
Research also suggests some physiological explanations for why women cry more.\u00a0 It has been reported that women have more Prolactin in their tears than men.\u00a0 Prolactin is a hormone that has multiple functions in the body.\u00a0 It has been associated with bonding and nurturing feelings, so it would not surprise me that a female may cry more.\u00a0 I consider that to be a good thing.\u00a0\u00a0 How great to connect so strongly with other people and be able to fully express emotions.<\/p>\n
Additionally, at puberty, there is a clear spread that develops between males and females crying.\u00a0\u00a0 Females tend to cry more.\u00a0 This may be a product of the increased Estrogen and Prolactin that comes with puberty.\u00a0 Conversely, in males, the increased Testosterone may slow down the ability to cry.\u00a0 It also may be that a boy’s pimples block his tear ducts.\u00a0 It is probably a bit of both that contribute.<\/p>\n
Crying can serve many purposes.\u00a0 Most agree that it is an emotional outlet.\u00a0\u00a0 You don’t have to be the CEO of “Kleenex” to realize that it is important to let feelings out.\u00a0 There is a saying attributed to British psychiatrist Henry Maudsley, “The sorrow which has no vent in tears may make other organs weep.”\u00a0 In other words, cry if you feel the need; if you don’t, the feelings will come out in potentially harmful ways.<\/p>\n
Some people can’t cry.\u00a0 There are rare medical conditions that cause this, but often they are psychological conditions.\u00a0 I have worked with people that were scared to cry because the emotions associated feel too strong or uncontrollable.\u00a0\u00a0 The\u00a0question of why some people can\u2019t emotionally cry is being studied but there is currently no direct answer.\u00a0 Those that can\u2019t emotionally cry may not be ready for the good old Hallmark moment, but with help they can be brought to a safe place, with care and support, to test those waters.<\/p>\n
You may be wondering what purpose the tears serve.\u00a0 There are three kinds of tears.\u00a0 There are basal, which we constantly make to keep our eyes clear and with good focus, healthy and protected from infection.\u00a0 There are reflex tears, which our eyes produce immediately when a foreign body or other irritant enter in order to clear it.\u00a0 Last, there are emotional tears. These are the ones shed in conjunction with any kind of strong emotion, mostly sadness or fear, but also anger or happiness.<\/p>\n
There is a difference in the composition of these tears.\u00a0 Reflex tears are mostly water, basal have a consistent balance of water and other ingredients.\u00a0 Emotional seem to be the most complex.\u00a0 Research has shown that emotional tears have elevated proteins in them related to stress hormones.\u00a0 This suggests that one possible purpose of emotional crying is to rid the body of stress hormone excess or other toxins; to help make us feel better after a bad experience.\u00a0 Tears also help others\u2019 identify a person\u2019s emotions more rapidly and accurately.<\/p>\n
To review,\u00a0crying is a way to show intense emotion and gain support and attention a person needs. \u00a0It is a way to keep vision clear and eyes healthy.\u00a0 It is a way to be as ecstatic as an AFC Championship win or as pissed as a Super Bowl blowout.\u00a0 It is a way to show you are cutting onions and it is a way to get that piece of jalapeno that just flew in your eye back out.<\/p>\n
Tearful crying is unique to human beings and is a part of being human that I feel we must embrace.\u00a0\u00a0 No more running from tears; it is time to go with the flow.\u00a0 No need to be embarrassed.\u00a0 Sometimes, you can even pick the time and place.\u00a0 Men, if you need to cry in private, tell your friends you are checking on your Harley and then go outside and let ‘er rip.\u00a0 Cry however is comfortable for you, but find a way to do it when needed.<\/p>\n
Next year, if you find yourself crying on the 4th<\/sup> of July, you can use the excuse that the smoke from the fireworks and burned burgers got in your eyes or you can truly choose independence and say, “I cry because I am free to cry”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This year, I experienced a quiet Fourth of July.\u00a0 I enjoyed the liberty of watching coverage of this fully American Holiday from home, with the independence to choose which television channel to watch the nation celebrate. I was struck with the beauty and passion of the celebration, but also with the amazingly diverse ways people […]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.denverpsychiatry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.denverpsychiatry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.denverpsychiatry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.denverpsychiatry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.denverpsychiatry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.denverpsychiatry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.denverpsychiatry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.denverpsychiatry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.denverpsychiatry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}