Why do we cry?

In my last post, I shared my sneaking suspicion that I wasn’t the only person in the world who regularly cries. Turns out that I was right. So here are some of the stories I received, some sad, some down right ridiculous. To anyone reading this, please never be ashamed to cry. You are definitely not alone.

​I just cried in my last therapy session and I didn’t even know why.  I just burst into tears talking about everyday things.

One time I needed my dad to get me a salad before I went to a concert or something and I properly described the one I wanted and then he bought the wrong one and it was disgusting and had loads of mayonnaise and I cried in the car.

I last cried when I was dealing with past childhood traumas, which I had to let go of some guilt and hurt I was feeling that was not my fault.

Last time I really cried, when I was really tired and was putting out the washing onto the airer with my husband, he teased me about how I was hanging it out, and I burst into tears. Over a t-shirt!

OMG I feel like your most recent blog post is for me. I cry at absolutely everything (and nothing). And when I start… I can’t stop. It can be seriously embarrassing. I think the most recent was earlier this week when I was talking to a friend on the phone. They were talking about ordering a takeaway and I was getting some serious food envy. So much so that the tears started rolling down my cheeks (silently thank god!). My defense is that I was tired and stressed. But it happens more often than I care to admit. Luckily no-one saw me that time, it’s happened at work before in response to the slightest bit of criticism. Other times I cry without knowing why!

Sometimes I get into bed, curl into a ball and cry myself to sleep… for no good reason

Great timing, I literally just cried today! I’m now doing a masters in Law, and it’s getting pretty heavy now. Everything just piled up, and before I knew it… I thought I was the only one in the world who was struggling away!

Tears

We all cry. I know I do. I’ve got the empty tissue boxes and swollen eyelids to prove it. But it doesn’t feel like it’s OK to cry in our society. We are made to feel like we are the only ones who sit on the bathroom floor, letting the tears run off our red faces. That is not true.

So I’d like to ask your help. Send me a description of the last time you cried. I’d like to make a compilation of the things that get us sobbing, no matter how minor the reason. Reading other people’s experiences may show people that it is a normal and healthy thing to do. It will all be anonymous.

I’ll kick it off with a story about when I last cried. It was today, when someone asked me how I was doing, and I burst into tears. I didn’t realise that I was feeling sad until that moment, and it was completely unexpected. And it took me quite a long time to stop crying. I didn’t have a concrete reason to cry, but it was what my body decided to do. All of a sudden I was pouring out a hundred different reasons that I was not OK. I don’t think that any of that would have even entered my mind if I hadn’t had a good cry.

So be brave, and share your sob stories. Show the world that it’s OK to cry, even if it’s for a ridiculous reason. We really don’t need a reason to be allowed to get teary, and it’s not something to be resisted.