Ever since I was younger I have always been known as the crybaby. If you yelled at me, I cried. If I was embarrassed, I cried. If you did something to make me really happy, I cried.
There was just no going about it with me. Everything and anything would make me cry. Of course, as I have gotten older I have gotten slightly better at not crying over every little thing.
If you ask my boyfriend or family they might say otherwise. Now as a college student, I find myself crying about different things.
I think many of you can relate, the one thing to get me crying often is stress. Stress has become my worst enemy that I have to face and overcome weekly, and his biggest weapon against me is making me cry.
I cry like a baby and sob until my words are not even understandable. Crying is like the black plague, everybody fears it and does not want to be caught with it. However, I beg to differ on the issue that tears are a sign of weakness.
I think that tears show that you are a stronger person because you are in touch with your emotions. We might not cry for the same reasons but crying is just a part of our human nature, we’ve done it from the very moment we entered this world. Many argue that we cry to address something.
For example babies cry when they need the attention from a parent. Also, when we cry emotionally we release adrenocorticotrophic hormones and enkephalin. These hormones will build up in the cerebrum and will quite literally overflow into your ocular areas.
Your body will push them out as tears when they build up too much. These emotionally endured tears are associated with high stress levels and is seen to kill pain and improve your mood.
Flushing these tears out of your body you tend to lose two things. One, you lose a bit of you manliness. However you else lose the depressing feelings of anxiety, stress, and anger.
So as I mentioned tears are actually very good for removing toxins, lowering stress levels, and elevating our mood. When you’ve been letting your emotions escalate, having a cry or two can be a huge relief.
Crying is also associated with lowering built-up stress. When you hold back your tears it only makes your stress levels go higher, this contributing to illnesses and disease that are stress driven.
This can be anything from high blood pressure to anxiety and heart attacks. You might also think that crying makes you look like you are emotionally unstable, however oddly enough it can actually help create a bond with someone else. When you allow yourself to be that vulnerable and open with someone it can make you closer to that person.
You realize that person is someone you can confide in and show your true colors with. Crying shows your true emotions as well. It shows the bare truth on how you really feel and forces you to acknowledge it.
It might feel like ignoring and avoiding the issues will make them go away but it actually does quite the opposite. If anything it makes it worse and harder to deal with and accept.
Once you’ve accepted that there is an issue, it can help you move on. Maybe it just was not your week this week. Maybe you didn’t do as well as you’d hoped this last exam. It’s okay.
Life moves forward and if you need a good cry here and there to get you through the week then do it. Don’t be ashamed, it’s in our nature to do these things. It might not be the only way to deal with your feelings but it can help. Let those tears flow.
Susy Macias
Senior Viewpoints Editor