The Psychology Of Crying

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The Psychology Of Crying

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/133552.php

We've all experienced a " good cry " - whether following a breakup or

just after a really stressful day, shedding some tears can often make

us feel better and help us put things in perspective. But why is

crying beneficial? And is there such a thing as a " bad cry " ?

University of South Florida psychologists Rottenberg and

M. Bylsma, along with their colleague Ad J.J.M. Vingerhoets of

Tilburg University describe some of their recent findings about the

psychology of crying in the December issue of Current Directions in

Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological

Science.

The psychologists analyzed the detailed accounts of more than 3000

recent crying experiences (which occurred outside of the laboratory)

and found that the benefits of crying depend entirely on the what,

where and when of a particular crying episode. The researchers found

that the majority of respondents reported improvements in their mood

following a bout of crying. However, one third of the survey

participants reported no improvement in mood and a tenth felt worse

after crying. The survey also revealed that criers who received

social support during their crying episode were the most likely to

report improvements in mood.

Research to date has not always produced a clear picture of the

benefits of crying , in part because the results often seem to depend

on how crying is studied. The authors note several challenges in

accurately studying crying behavior in a laboratory setting.

Volunteers who cry in a laboratory setting often do not describe

their experiences as being cathartic or making them feel better.

Rather, crying in a laboratory setting often results in the study

participants feeling worse; this may be due to the stressful

conditions of the study itself, such as being videotaped or watched

by research assistants. This may produce negative emotions (such as

embarrassment), which neutralize the positive benefits usually

associated with crying.

However, these laboratory studies have provided interesting findings

about the physical effects of crying. Criers do show calming effects

such as slower breathing, but they also experience a lot of

unpleasant stress and arousal, including increased heart rate and

sweating. What is interesting is that bodily calming usually lasts

longer than the unpleasant arousal. The calming effects may occur

later and overcome the stress reaction, which would account for why

people tend to remember mostly the pleasant side of crying.

Research has shown that the effects of crying also depend on who is

shedding the tears. For example, individuals with anxiety or mood

disorders are least likely to experience the positive effects of

crying. In addition, the researchers report that people who lack

insight into their emotional lives (a condition known as alexithymia)

actually feel worse after crying. The authors suggest that for these

individuals, their lack of emotional insight may prevent the kind of

cognitive change required for a sad experience to be transformed into

something positive.