Heartbreaking Crying: A Medicine To ‘cleanse’ The Soul

Some people cry momentarily and weep in silence and discreet seclusion. But really, heartbreaking crying is the only way to restart and make our sadness, frustration and tension disappear. Sincere relief is possible only through these tears, which are shed like oceans and are soothed with a broken voice.

According to experts in psychobiology, few behaviors make us as human as laughing and crying. Both emotional expressions have many similarities. They both carry an element of ‘perseverance’. By this we mean that laughing and crying start. They last for a while. That period of time cannot be easily broken down. Moreover, they both have the same result. They make us feel better.

On the other hand, we all know that heartbreaking crying—the kind of crying that brings genuine relief—raises social eyebrows.  The discreet tear that slips from you during a political speech or when shaking your head because you are moved by pride or by the sight of beauty is most accepted.

Perhaps this is precisely why most of us avoid “crying loudly.” It’s always easier to find a dark corner where no one sees us and let our tears flow there. We can only cry that way, in the most discreet silence. Because we have to make sure that no one hears us, that no one sees us or discovers that we are not as strong as we seem.

Yet psychiatrists and neurobiologists are very clear about this. Whether enlightenment happens in solitude or in the presence of someone else, it must be sincere, cathartic, and liberating. Anything that includes ‘self-control’ involves creating tension and an element of stress. People need to cry.

Heartbreaking crying, behavior that has many purposes

Most babies cry when they are born. But they cry without tears. The brain mechanism that causes the lacrimal glands to secrete tears is not yet fully developed. Yet their howling already fulfills a necessary biological function. It guarantees the survival of the baby by linking it to receiving attention, care, comfort and affection.

In addition, as we grow and mature, crying continues to perform several functions that are as interesting as they are useful. But in practice, we don’t always enjoy its benefits.

One of the purposes of crying is to remove toxins from the body caused by stress and anxiety. Something bad doesn’t necessarily have to happen to us to make us feel sad or sad. Sometimes we weep from simple exhaustion. It is very healthy to do this.

A study conducted by the Psychiatric Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) explains how crying also has a warning function. It is precisely a way of awakening our consciousness. In periods when we feel frustrated and overwhelmed by something, we should actually respond. But we don’t do this.

Letting your tears flow is actually very easy. But this simple fact sets in motion sophisticated biological mechanisms. They allow us to see things more clearly.

According to the researchers, heartbreaking crying is actually an extraordinary new step in human evolution. Because it’s not just a matter of ‘letting the tears fall’. Sincere and deep weeping that completely relieves us, activates the action of neurotrophins. These elements are a type of protein capable of improving neuronal smoothness.

In other words, ‘it restores us’. It promotes learning new things. In addition, it helps us to be more creative so that we can perform new behaviors that allow us to better adapt to our environment.

Crying, vulnerability and comfort

Responsibilities at work always make us need some time to ourselves. Doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers… Many of us look for a moment to distance ourselves from others and relieve drama or stress. But sometimes those moments aren’t enough. There is no real ‘recovery’. This continues until little by little we start to feel overloaded, blocked and anxious. That thorn is making us unable to breathe.

The same happens with our daily problems. There are words we don’t speak. We experience losses that we do not dare to confront. We try to hide the pain that keeps on throbbing. Why do we have such a hard time asking for help? Why do we feel so vulnerable to other people when we cry heartbreakingly?

Lending a helping hand is an art that not everyone has mastered

The crux of the matter is as difficult as it is clear. Not everyone knows how to lend a helping hand. People often say things that don’t help at all. ‘ Why are you crying now?’, ‘ Come on, it’s not so bad’. Phrases like this make the person we want to support end up blocking even more. We thus reinforce the negative feeling and the depression.

Want to make it easier for someone to feel emotionally relieved? Then look for the right person. Because not everyone can do it or has the best strategies to give us that closeness. Some people lack that ability to release what hurts and torments us. Close friends and of course psychologists are the best guides to this process.

Freeing ourselves by crying heartbreakingly in front of someone is not a sign of weakness or vulnerability. It is the step that a strong person takes to relieve his tension, fear and sadness. He does it with the intention of rebuilding himself from scratch. This way he can recover and get help.

Offering a helping hand is not just giving a hug. It also doesn’t mean telling someone ‘everything will be fine’. But it is intuitive caring that you can bring about a sense of relief in the other person. Because you know how to offer this feeling. It’s knowing how to say ‘ I’m here with you’. You don’t push yourself and you obviously don’t judge. It is being discreet while present and offering closeness.

To conclude this article, we would like to encourage you with a piece of advice. It’s not easy to allow ourselves those moments of genuine emotional relief. It does not matter whether alone or in the company of others. But it is necessary that we allow it now and then. Cleaning the soul is a biological and psychological need. We must not forget the classic words of Ciara Molina. “Emotions expressed are emotions overcome”.