• Question: Hey :) i have a question, why do we cry when we're upset? thanks :)

    Asked by paigerawr to Sarah, Diana, Alan, Caspar, Murray on 21 Mar 2011 in Categories: . This question was also asked by r3dd3vilz.
    • Photo: Murray Collins

      Murray Collins answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      Hi – I answered this question yesterday and you can have a look here- 🙂

      http://ias.im/35.275

    • Photo: Alan Winfield

      Alan Winfield answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      I really don’t know the answer to that paige – if I wrote something here I would just be guessing. But one of the other scientists in this zone, Murray, already wrote a really great answer here: http://ias.im/35.275

    • Photo: Caspar Addyman

      Caspar Addyman answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Babies cry because they don’t yet have any other way to communicate ( http://ias.im/35.1021 ) and they are so helpless that they rely completely on their mother and need to let her know when they need something. Humans are very sensitive to babies crying and find it very difficult to ignore.

      I think that a lot of our more grown up tears are a version of that same mechanism.. Crying and tears are very, very deeply associated with trauma in our minds and also with relief.. remember that as a baby crying usually ended with mommy coming to make everything better. so there is something in our brains that associates crying itself with feeling better. I think that might be part of the reason why a good cry can make you feel better too.

      Why to we have tears when we cry? I don’t know!

    • Photo: Sarah Thomas

      Sarah Thomas answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      There are 3 types of tears: tears to keep our eyes lubricated constantly, reflex tears that are produced when our eyes get irritated, and tears when the body reacts emotionally to something. Each type of tear contains different amounts of chemicals and hormones. Emotional tears contain higher levels of manganese and the hormone Prolactin. High levels of these in your body can cause depression. Many people feel better after a good cry and this is in part due to the chemicals and hormones that are released in the tears.

      When there is an emotional occurance such as pain or a loss, the nervous system stimulates the cranial nerve in youe brain and this sends signals to the tear glands.

    • Photo: Diana Drennan

      Diana Drennan answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      Well, there are three different types of tears. Basal tears keep our eyes lubricated – have you ever had wind in your face and felt how uncomfortable it is to let your eyes dry out ?
      Reflex tears are produced when our eyes get irritated, like with onions or when something gets into our eyes. The third kind of tear is produced when the body reacts emotionally to something. Each type of tear contains different amounts of chemical proteins and hormones.

      Apparently, emotional tears contain higher levels of manganese and the hormone prolactin, and this contributes in a reduction of both of these in the body. This reduction would help keep depression away. In fact, many people (including me !) have found that crying actually calms them after being upset, and this is in part due to the chemicals and hormones that are released in the tears. Have you ever heard the phrase “they just need to cry it out” ? It refers to just this effect. So, if someone is upset and you sit nearby being supportive and wait for awhile, eventually they’ll stop crying and feel somewhat better.

      There may also be an evolutionary benefit to crying as it seems to induce an emotional reaction in other people who are then motivated to come and help.

      One important thing to remember, is that crying doesn’t make a man a “lesser man” or a woman “too soft”..it just helps us vent out to make us feel better…so its really normal to shed a tear or two… :’)

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