Feeling It Helps You Heal It

Oh, there is such joy and beauty in laughter. When Emily was a toddler, she giggled and laughed all the time. Her smile and laugh could cheer me up on even the worst day. Laughter lifts our mood and the mood of those around us. It brings inner joy and happiness, but sometimes we do not feel like laughing (or smiling). When we are hurting, tired, sad, and angry, it can be beneficial to cry. Often we suppress negative emotions. We choose to swallow them down, and they get pushed aside. Emotions desire to be expressed. 

When we suppress our emotions, we usually end up doing more harm than good. We may overeat, overspend, over-drink, or binge-watch a show. We do anything not to feel the emotion that our body wants to release. The pain is still there, and unless we process the emotion, it will still be there. We may add extra weight, increase our debt, sacrifice sleep and our health, but the pain does not disappear. If you break your arm and ignore it, that will not solve the problem or resolve the pain.

Crying is an incredible way to release painful emotions. Once we acknowledge our emotions and give them space to be processed, they will slowly (or quickly) dissipate. Crying is therapeutic and healing. It is similar to addressing pain when your body aches. For instance, if you get a headache and stop to address it with pain medication or a natural remedy the pain usually goes away. If the pain is ignored, it will usually get louder until we take action to address it. Emotions are the gauges of our mental wellness, and pain is a gauge of our physical well-being. A quick way to help treat mental pain is to cry. It sounds so simple, and yet it is often difficult. There is science behind the benefits of shedding emotional tears.

Humans experience three types of tears. They are basil, reflex, and emotional tears. Each has a function and purpose. Basil tears maintain eye health and protect the cornea. Reflex tears flush the eyes of toxins. They help eliminate stray eyelashes, dust, smoke, or fumes. All species experience basil and reflex tears but only humans express emotional tears.

What is the purpose of emotional tears? They don’t maintain eye health, and they do not eliminate toxins, so what do they do? Here is just a partial list of the benefits of emotional tears:

• They help release stress from the body.
• Crying releases endorphins, and by doing so, boosts our mood.
• They signal to others that we need support.
•  Crying can also dull physical pain in the body.
• Tears help restore emotional balance.
• They can aid in sleep. Tears can help us rest better.

Did you know crying also helps babies to breathe? I think that is a wonderful reason for tears. Crying is important. Both laughing and crying serve a purpose. Go ahead and have a good laugh when you feel giddy or happy. Also, go ahead and have a good cry when your emotions are calling for one. Releasing emotion is good for your body and soul.