53. Crying is Good For Your Health

When was the last time you had a good cry?

Did you know that our tears contain natural pain-killers?

Emotional tears are made of higher concentrations of toxins that accumulate during stress.  The hormones, including adrenocorticotropic hormone & leucine enkephalin (a natural painkiller), get excreted from the body through crying, suggesting that crying helps in balancing stress hormone levels. 

Additional studies also suggest that crying stimulates the production of endorphins, another of our body’s natural pain killers, and “feel-good” hormones.”

Stress tightens muscles and heightens tension. Crying helps to purge those pent up emotions, so they don’t lodge in your body as stress symptoms such as fatigue or pain. Crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system and restores the body to a state of balance. Typically, after crying, our breathing, and heart rate decrease, and we enter into a calmer biological and emotional state. 

Some cultures consider crying to be undignified, or that it’s ok for women and girls, but not men and boys, or that it should be done in private, not public

The good news is that you get to choose what you believe. If you don’t like the idea that crying is shameful, then you can choose what you believe about it, instead. 

Tears also express a need for help and foster willingness to help in an observer. 

Many of us have been brought up to believe that you need a REASON - and not just any reason, but a GOOD REASON to cry.... Do you remember being asked as a kid “Why are you crying?” “Don’t be sad”  or being told “There’s no reason to cry!” Have you caught yourself saying those things to yourself, or the Little Brains in your life? I have - and have since shifted my language. 

But, sometimes we just don’t know why.  Haven’t you ever had a moment where you just want to cry, and you don’t know why?  You don’t have a reason? You just want to, or need to, or feel inclined to cry. 

Because emotions are not logical.

When we try to apply our grown-up logic and reason to illogical, un-reason-able emotions, we perpetuate the notion that you have to have a reason to feel something, and if you don’t have a reason, and a good one at that, you shouldn’t feel that emotion.

That some emotions are good, and justified, and some are not - they’re frivolous or shameful.

The truth is, for both men and women, tears are a sign of courage, strength, and authenticity. They are a sign of release of stress and toxins.

We need to let go of outdated, untrue, conceptions about crying. And we need to become comfortable in our discomfort when we cry - especially in front of others, or someone else cries in front of us.  

It is good to cry. It is healthy to cry. It helps to emotionally clear sadness and stress.


LINKS
Rise of the Passion Led Learner Video Series - Julia Black

Coaching with Sarah

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