Why I Love My Therapist (or, why crying is good for you)
Do you ever just have one of those days? You know the kind: You wake up groggy, you’re behind before you even start, and you can’t seem to do anything right. Today was one of those days for me. Thank goodness for an 8:30 a.m. therapy appointment. I had been up for about 2 hours before I went in, and was running on about 3 hours of sleep. She took one look at me and knew something was wrong, so of course she wasn’t surprised when I just burst into tears and did that barely coherent I’m-three-years-old-and-it’s-way-past-my-naptime wail about why my day was so sucky. I seriously felt like I would never stop crying. And then, all of a sudden, I felt better.
This isn’t a ploy for “Poor baby!”s in the comments section, or even a “Chin up, kiddo.” This is about the dual benefits of having a good cry and having someone you can cry in front of without them thinking you’re bonkers or avoiding you the next time you see them at a party. It’s about having an outlet.
Check this out:
Crying may actually be really good for you! Says one psychological counselor,
“Weeping is one of the mechanisms that humans use to get rid of some toxins. Tears may be involved in removing waste products or toxic substances from the body. Perhaps that is why so many people say they feel better after crying.”
Now in all honesty, I’ve never heard of the guy who said this or the place that published the article, so I have no clue about the validity of the research. But what I do know is that I feel better after I cry. And that got me thinking.
That’s when I found this article, from the San Mateo Daily Journal, which said,
“Crying is the most inexpensive, natural and powerful mechanism for coping with pain, stress and sorrow. By stifling crying, legitimate emotions are not released and unproductive personality traits like rudeness, and potentially harmful acts such as school shootings can result. We should encourage healthy crying. After all, weeping is probably a necessary contributing factor to human survival.”
How about that? But wait, there’s more. An article over at ThirdAge.com says this:
“Science has proven that stress is terrible for the health of your brain, heart and other organs,” says William Frey II, Ph.D., biochemist and tear expert of the Ramsey Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “It isn’t proven yet, but weeping has most likely served humans throughout our evolutionary history by reducing stress.”
Well, I’m sold. And I’ve got the personal experience to back it up.
Next time you feel like you’re just going to CRY, find a safe place (your therapist’s office, your best friend’s kitchen, the storage room at work, whatever), and let go. You’ll feel better. Science says so, and so do I.
Tags: crying, Health, stress-relief, therapy, woman, women, Womens-HealthRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Anxiety, Depression, Encouragement, Health, Inspiration, Mind, Spirit, Stress, Wellness
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1 opinion for Why I Love My Therapist (or, why crying is good for you)
Lively Women » There’s More to Being Lively than Eating Right and Exercising
Jan 16, 2007 at 6:05 pm
[…] For what seems like my whole life, I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety, crazy mood swings, irrational fears I just couldn’t shake, and hurtful bad habits (like picking at my skin until it bleeds). Last fall, I finally got to the point where I simply couldn’t take it anymore! I decided that it was time to get help. I started seeing a psychiatrist, who put me on Zoloft to ease my depression and smooth out my anxiety. I also started seeing a therapist (whom I’ve mentioned before) on a weekly basis. And while that was going on, I decided that the best course of action was to get a full psychological evaluation to figure out exactly what I was dealing with and to use as a tool for my treatment. […]
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