GO AHEAD, HAVE A GOOD CRY!
Discover how shedding a few tears can wash away caregiver stress.
BY:MARY ELIZABETH TERZELLA
Does life seem so bad that you feel like bursting into tears? Go ahead! It will make you feel better, says neuroscientist and tear researcher William H. Frey II, PhD, director of the Alzheimer’s Research Center at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“Studies of hundreds of volunteers have found that eighty-five percent of women and seventy-three percent of men feel less sad and angry after crying,” says Dr. Frey. Since “humans are the only animals to evolve the ability to shed tears in response to emotional stress,” he speculates that people may feel better after crying because our tears flush out chemicals that build up during stress.
Weeping is not only a human response to sorrow and frustration, it’s a healthy one, adds Dr. Frey. “Crying is a natural way to reduce emotional stress that, left unchecked, can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and other stress-related disorders.”