Cry Baby!
It’s time to focus on solutions.
My favorite (and very effective) solution is CRYING!
A Loooong & hard & UGLY cry I highly recommend. Us humans are good at holding on to things we don’t even realize. Our body holds onto tramas, heartaches & loss.
Chunk out a space of time for it in a place you feel comfortable, safe and alone. Make sure you have lots of food you love so you don’t have to go anywhere. Get a movie (or song playlist if you have music powerful enough to make you cry), put on something that makes you feel super comfy & at least 1 box of Kleenex. Make sure you have a space all to yourself. This is for you and only you.
Have you ever seen the movie, “My Life” with Nicole Kidman and Michael Keaton? If starting to cry doesn’t come easily, which doesn’t for me and I’m a crier, a movie can get me started.
Here are a few that have always worked for me:
My Life
Steel Magnolias
ET
Dead Poets Society
Fried Green Tomatos
Schildler’s List, Life is Beautiful (any movie about the holocost. I can’t bring myself to watch “Boy in the Striped Pajamas)
12 Years of Slave
Movies separating a dog & it’s owner
While you are crying, think of things that make you sad. Feel them. Dig deep. Cry harder. Visit regrets & heartbreak & the stress you have about money, raising a good kid, what the future will hold. Feel the pain and sadness through your whole body. Don’t resist. Walk, fold, lie on the floor or bed - there are no rules. You will know when you are finished this awesome healing, letting go, stress relieving crying session. Start to breathe. I often find myself in the shower crying again.
A cry playlist can also do the trick. Songs that remind you of someone, the past, what you let slip away. Again, be alone and know you can be long & loud.
Then bust out your awesome song playlist and dance! The goal is to feel lighter, clear headed & capable!
I’m usually exhausted after a fabulous crying session. It is still your time to recover in whatever why you need to. I usually drink a lot of water and have a nap or go to bed cuddled up with me pup (it’s all a bit hard on her too). Beautiful sleep …
** Crying is also a way for our body to tell us that it might be time to spend a bit of time with a professional(I LOVE counselling!). If crying happens without warning, often and is interfering with your life, then make an appointment with your doctor and a mental health professional. Sometimes only 1 or 2 visits are just the ticket.
Article from, “Medical News Today” on the benefits of crying: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319631.php
Crying is a natural response humans have to a range of emotions, including sadness, grief, joy, and frustration. But does crying have any health benefits?
It is not unusual to cry, and both sexes cry more than people may assume. In the United States, women cry an average of 3.5 times per month and men cry an average of 1.9 times a month.
Interestingly, humans are the only animals to cry tears. This article explores why we cry and what health benefits crying may have.
Why do people cry?
Humans produce three types of tears:
Basal: The tear ducts constantly secrete basal tears, which are a protein-rich antibacterial liquid that help to keep the eyes moist every time a person blinks.
Reflex: These are tears triggered by irritants such as wind, smoke, or onions. They are released to flush out these irritants and protect the eye.
Emotional: Humans shed tears in response to a range of emotions. These tears contain a higher level of stress hormones than other types of tears.
When people talk about crying, they are usually referring to emotional tears.
Benefits of crying
People may try to suppress tears if they see them as a sign of weakness, but science suggests that doing so could mean missing out on a range of benefits. Researchers have found that crying:
1. Has a soothing effect. Self-soothing is when people: Regulate their own emotions, calm themselves and/or reduce their own distress.
A 2014 study found that crying may have a direct, self-soothing effect on people. The study explained how crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which helps people relax.
2. Gets support from others. As well as helping people self-soothe, crying can help people get support from others around them.
As this 2016 study explains, crying is primarily an attachment behavior, as it rallies support from the people around us. This is known as an interpersonal or social benefit.
3. Helps to relieve pain. Research has found that in addition to being self-soothing, shedding emotional tears releases oxytocin and endorphins.
These chemicals make people feel good and may also ease both physical and emotional pain. In this way, crying can help reduce pain and promote a sense of well-being.
4. Enhances mood. Crying may help lift people's spirits and make them feel better. As well as relieving pain, oxytocin and endorphins can help improve mood. This is why they are often known as "feel good" chemicals.
5. Releases toxins and relieves stress. When humans cry in response to stress, their tears contain a number of stress hormones and other chemicals.
Researchers believe that crying could reduce the levels of these chemicals in the body, which could, in turn, reduce stress. More research is needed into this area, however, to confirm this.
6. Aids sleep. A small study in 2015 found that crying can help babies sleep better. Whether crying has the same sleep-enhancing effect on adults is yet to be researched.
However, it follows that the calming, mood-enhancing, and pain-relieving effects of crying above may help a person fall asleep more easily.
7. Fights bacteria. Crying helps to kill bacteria and keep the eyes clean as tears contain a fluid called lysozyme.
A 2011 study found that lysozyme had such powerful antimicrobial properties that it could even help to reduce risks presented by bioterror agents, such as anthrax.
8. Improves vision. Basal tears, which are released every time a person blinks, help to keep the eyes moist and prevent mucous membranes from drying out.
Crying in response to emotions such as sadness, joy, or frustration is normal and has a number of health benefits.
However, sometimes frequent crying can be a sign of depression. People may be depressed if their crying:
Happens for no apparent reason
Happens very frequently
Starts to affect daily activities
Becomes uncontrollable
Other signs of depression include: Having trouble concentrating, remembering things,or making decisions, feeling fatigued or without energy, feeling guilty, worthless, or helpless, feeling pessimistic or hopeless, having trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, feeling irritable or restless, not enjoying things that were once pleasurable, overeating or undereating, unexplained aches, pains, or cramps, digestive problems that do not improve with treatment, persistent anxiety, suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm.
If a person is experiencing symptoms of depression, or someone they know is, then they should talk to a doctor.
