Can crying a lot be harmful? (2023)

Can crying a lot be harmful?

Crying might be a sign of emotional stress and pain but if you are wondering how it harms your body, the answer is that it does not. Crying does not harm one's body physically. In fact it does better than harm to your body, purely physically speaking.

If you laugh or cry uncontrollably, suddenly and frequently—even when you're not feeling emotional, this may be a symptom of a condition called PseudoBulbar Affect (PBA), which may be a sign of a neurologic condition or traumatic brain injury.

Crying Helps Improve Your Mood

Many people associate crying with feeling sad and making them feel worse, but in reality, crying can help improve your mood - emotional tears release stress hormones. Your stress level lowers when you cry, which can help you sleep better and strengthen your immune system.

There are people who cry everyday for no particularly good reason, who are truly sad. And if you are tearful everyday over activities that are normal in your life, that may be depression. And that's not normal and it is treatable.

A newer study found that the average duration for a crying session was eight minutes. If you're concerned that you're crying too much, if you can't seem to stop crying, or have started crying more than usual, talk to your doctor. It may be a sign of depression or another mood disorder.

When tears drain into the sinuses, they mix with mucus and can cause a runny nose. This buildup of mucus and tears can cause pressure in the sinuses, which may lead to a headache. A person experiencing a sinus headache may feel pain and pressure across their forehead, cheeks, or around their eyes.

Crying also soothes us by facilitating the release of oxytocin (also called the cuddle hormone). This induces a sense of calm and well-being, helping us sleep peacefully.

4. Cry all you want — you won't run out of tears. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), you make 15 to 30 gallons of tears every year. Your tears are produced by lacrimal glands located above your eyes.

Crying Lowers Blood Pressure

Crying has been found to lower blood pressure and pulse rate immediately following therapy sessions during which patients cried and vented. High blood pressure can damage the heart and blood vessels and contribute to stroke, heart failure and even dementia.

Can crying cause heart problems?

The researchers found that sudden emotional stress could result in severe weakness in the heart muscle, making it seem as though the person was having a heart attack. This "broken heart syndrome," says Goldberg, was more common in women.