Get Acquainted with the Psychology of Crying

Everybody cries from time to time because of different reasons. Sometimes, people would cry after watching a very good movie mirroring the deep love of a father towards his son. I guess you’ve met people who tend to cry at movies, haven’t you? The thing is that psychologists have unraveled that shedding tears can be explained in psychological terms.

Specialists who study the effects and psychology of crying affirmed that thanks to this study concerning crying, they will be able to grasp new interesting insight on human nature.

Researchers from all over the world try to analyze the composition of tears and determine the main factors that determine people to cry. They also look to settle the link between crying and their cultural background.

Communication through crying

Crying can be perceived as a means of communicating. For instance, infants, when they are unable to express themselves because they can’t speak, they cry in order to attract their parents’ attention. They cry because they wish to express that they’re hungry, thirsty, and cold, in need of cleaning and so on. Sometimes, people burst into tears as a result of chronic stress, indicating that they are unable to cope with it any longer. After a breakup, people also cry, to express their pain and regret, and release the abundance of emotions. People also tend to cry to attract someone’s attention.

However, crying seems to present its set of weird properties. For instance, men perceive women who tend to cry to be unattractive. Still, weirdly enough, there are odd men who convey crying women attractive, but we’re not going to get into that here.

Contrary to popular belief, a person who doesn’t cry that often doesn’t necessarily mean that he/she has a heart made of stone. There are some people who are basically unable to produce tears, a term referred by ophthalmologists as “dry eyes”.

The negative effects of crying

While some people convey crying as enjoyable or refreshing, as a matter of fact, crying in excess can be quite harmful. Excessive crying makes the body experience feelings of anxiety and panic, making the stress hormones – adrenaline and cortisol – flood the brain and body.

Prolonged crying can significantly affect the brain’s ability to form brain tissue. As a result, the brain would suffer from chemical and hormonal imbalances. According to research, people who cry too much present diminished emotional, intellectual and social development accompanied by detrimental psychological alterations. Specialists tell us that there is more research to be developed to genuinely comprehend crying and all its intricate properties.