Why You Should Cry Before Your Next Emotional Event
The holidays are coming (and the Omicron variant) and you know what that means: now is the best time to cry. While December and all its associated holidays is a joyous time for many, it can also be a time of stress, depression, loneliness and grief.
That is why the speaker, presenter and personality on the social network V. Spekhar is “ahead of his time” before sad and difficult events. On this viral TikTok , she explains.
“Before I get to the event, which I think will really upset me,” Spehar began, referring to celebrating Thanksgiving without one of her siblings. “I think about it ahead of time and cry ahead of time, so I will be more stable at the moment.”
Most of us feel better after a good cry, and there is a scientific reason for this. According to the Harvard Health Blog , emotional tears (as opposed to reflex tears and basic tears, which wash away debris and lubricate our eyes) “flush stress hormones and other toxins from our bodies.” Research shows that crying releases the hormones oxytocin and endogenous morphine (also known as endorphins), which help relieve physical and emotional pain and improve our mood . A 2014 study also linked “tearful crying” in adults with increased activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body to rest and relax.
There are times when crying can be a sign of a more serious problem (when it is frequent, uncontrollable, or spontaneous), but when done in moderation, there is no question that it has a palliative effect. And it’s much healthier than an alternative called “repressive copying,” which is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension , as well as decreased immune function, anxiety and depression .
The idea is to purposefully think about the event that scares you and conjure up a sense of presence to process some of the strong emotions at home and get into the situation less tearfully. While Spehar acknowledges the validity of sadness, “it gets scary when we think our sadness is about to push us to the brink.”
She advocates using an “anchor object” – something sentimental, like a coin from your grandfather or a crystal with a special meaning – to hold or keep in my pocket while I cry “so I don’t slip off the edge of my body.” sadness.”
Of course, we often do not know when difficult events await us (I wish I had time to cry in advance before I knew that my three young children will have to stay at home and not go to school due to the potential COVID infection), but When you going to a holiday party without an ex or Christmas dinner without a loved one, try to shake off those tears before you get fun and flamboyant. This can make the evening more bearable.