In today’s society, crying has become a sign of weakness; and I have been told one too many times to just “suck it up” and control myself. I’m sure you have been told this at one point in your life as well. Although it is “acceptable” for women to cry (they’re more emotional, they say), men are held to a higher standard and have been told (trained even) since birth that “there’s no crying in baseball.” Men are supposed to be strong! Men don’t cry! But sometimes, you just can’t contain your emotions: everyone has their breaking point. Sometimes you have to let it all out and deal with the repercussions; the snide remarks you might receive. But what if I told you that crying is actually good for you? Would that change how you felt the next time you needed a good cry (men included)?
Not only do tears heal you emotionally, but physically, too. Here are some reasons why:
Tears Help You See:
At the lowest level, tears aid our eyesight (duh!). Tears help lubricate our eyeballs and eyelids and prevent our mucous membranes from dehydrating. Without tears, we can’t see. Without tears, humans would be extremely uncomfortable and in the long run, we would lose our eyesight completely.
They Kill Germs:
Tears produce an antibacterial and antiviral agent called lysozyme. These little guys can kill up to 90 – 95 percent of all bacteria in 5 to 10 minutes. With all the germs we are constantly picking up from the computer lab computers, Cathedral handrails and especially from just residing in Towers, it is good to know we have our own type of Clorox in our eyeballs.
They Remove Bad Things:
Through the process of crying, tears actually remove toxins from our body that build up from stress. Throughout many research studies on tears, it has been found that emotional tears (formed from distress or grief) contain more toxins than those formed from irritation. So when you cry, not only are you relieving stress but also removing the bad from your body.
Crying Makes You Happy:
Our bodies react negatively to manganese. Overexposure to this can cause anxiety, nervousness, irritability, fatigue, aggression, emotional disturbance and other negative feelings. By crying, our manganese levels lower; and because emotional tears contain a 24 percent higher amount of albumin protein concentration (a transporter of the toxic molecules) more bad stuff leaves your body.
Crying Lowers Stress:
Similar to sweating, both exercise and crying help release stress. Tears remove chemicals built up in the body due to stress. In comparison, suppressing tears causes your stress levels rise. Higher stress levels lead to diseases like high blood pressure, other heart problems and stomach ulcers. Stress also can accumulate inside the limbic system of the brain, which can trigger the bad feelings (like anxiety, nervousness, and irritability) we feel when upset!
Although carrying a negative stigma, our tears are a way of healing in both emotional and physical ways. With all the positive benefits, it’s intriguing how our society has given crying this negative connotation and why it’s not embraced more. Maybe it’s time to accept that potentially Tom Hanks was wrong, maybe it is good to have some crying in baseball.