Friday, January 14, 2011

Jan 14: Cry

The average woman cries at least five times per month.  That's not really me.  I rarely ever cry.  Occasionally at a movie I'll tear up, or if I get hurt or I'm really tired and emotionally compromised.  They say that crying is good for you, that it releases toxins and stress hormones that have been building up, and that the release of those negative hormones is what gives you the relief you feel afterward, the calm after the storm.  Today I had a debilitating migraine.  Not only did I not get the things done that I wanted to, it made me nauseous, sensitive to light and sound, and the medicine I took to ease it made me tired and groggy all day.  Despite this, I was settled in to have a relatively pleasant evening.  My sister and I decided not to join friends on a night out, and instead chill at the house.  I dyed my hair, we watched a good movie, and then one small comment  snowballed into an emotional eruption.
I felt hurt, attacked, wronged, judged, a million feelings all at once.  I went for a walk to try to sort things out and ended up crying for like half an hour, sitting on a swing on an empty playground, freezing cold in my pajamas and a coat, in the dark.  Ever notice how when you are especially emotional, one little negative thought can multiply very quickly, until suddenly you're thinking about all the things that upset you, fuel to your "woe is me" fire?  Eventually I walked home, went about getting ready for bed and logging on to write today's post.  And then, two little words, "I'm sorry," were spoken to me.  It didn't matter what she was sorry for, just the fact that she could say it was powerful.  Just as a few words sparked the incident, a few words helped extinguish it.
In most cultures crying (depending on the situation) is seen as weak, overemotional, or embarrassing. When we are the one crying, we try to hide it, stop, blink it away, or we retreat to somewhere we can cry in peace. When we are with someone who begins to cry, we instantly try to calm that person and help them to stop, (picture a crying baby).  But sometimes we just need to cry, or let someone else cry.  In fact, crying in the presence of supportive individuals has been scientifically proven to be emotionally bonding and more healing psychologically than crying when alone.  So next time you feel the urge, let it out... let it all out.  And when you are done, go to cryingwhileeating.com and be sure to check out Spencer :)

No comments:

Post a Comment