By Georgette
If you or your friend cry every time you or she/he gets a text message, listens to a song, or drops a pencil, then you're in luck. According to experts, people who cry often are mentally stronger than people who seldom shed a tear.
Though crying is usually interpreted as a sign of weakness, it is nonetheless a natural and legitimate type of healthy emotional output. You express yourself when you cry, and that's hardly weak. Crying is normal, and repressing that is not necessarily ideal. So, in order to put that weakness myth to rest, here are 8 reasons why crying might actually mean you're stronger.
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Crying helps decrease stress
Tears are a kind of catharsis that helps us unload our accumulated stress, tensions, frustrations, and negative feelings. When we're stressed out, our body is as well, and crying helps it relax and thus be better prepared to face daily life.
It makes your mind more resilient
There are times when we hold our tears back, but when we cry, we acknowledge our feelings and emotions without repressing them. This means we are better used to actually face what makes us feel bad rather than simply sweeping it under the rug. Facing our fears and emotions will inevitably make us more resilient overall, whereas ignoring our feelings will just carry them to our subconscious—where they can wreak havoc after a while.
Tears cleanse the mind
It's like purifying our inner self and cleaning it with our own tears. People who cry often can be considered stronger in this sense as well, insofar as they manage to actually deal with their inner woes and cast them out much better than people who hold back—leaving their demons to rot inside. Crying helps us connect with ourselves, and allows us to understand what ails our mind in the process.
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Unafraid of showing emotions
Just as we smile when we're happy without second thoughts, why wouldn't we simply cry when we're sad? People who do it understand that crying is an emotional expression, and there's nothing to be afraid of or feel embarrassed about. To be in touch with their feelings can be complicated for many. But we've got to acknowledge that the more in touch we are, the easier it'll be to live the best life you can live.
Crying makes you feel well
After a tearful release of emotions it's hard not feel better and lighter, as if those feelings had been literally weighting on us. There are many studies that show crying really does help us feel well. This is mostly because when we cry, our brains release endorphins—which in turn lead to a general feeling of well-being and tranquility.
Additionally, crying also reduces the manganese levels in our bodies, which helps us relax.
Unconcerned about what other people say
Those who have no issues with crying in public when justified have no concerns about how other people might judge them for doing so. This is because they know there's nothing whatsoever wrong with crying, and if someone else has a problem with that, it's their problem. So, those who can cry in public without shame are intrinsically more confident and don't need to repress their feelings to meet a superficial social norm.
We must understand that not all women who cry are unstable nor men less manly. On the contrary, both are brave enough to not support stigmas and ignorant prejudices.
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Tears encourage others to be emotionally honest
In an unpleasant situation, people who are not scared of crying encourage others to express their feelings in the same healthy manner—without walls or judgement. This is, without a doubt, a sign of emotional strength.
Plus, it makes you physically healthier
While this may not be an exceptionless generalization, it's true that shedding tears helps us release toxins—and they kill about 90% of eye bacteria in a few minutes as well. Also, a healthy mind certainly helps to keep a healthy body, and it's hard to deny that crying achieves the former, thereby promoting the latter.
Sure, crying does not by itself solve every problem—something mentally strong people are perfectly aware of—, but it can make us feel well enough to face these problems head on, with more strength and determination than we'd otherwise be able to have.
That said, this doesn't mean we should cry everywhere without any consideration for the well-being of others. But we certainly should allow ourselves, as a society, to cry way more often than we do—and to not place such a negative label on it.
Translated by Oliver G. Alvar
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