Why Cant I Cry Anymore Mental Health Causes
Besides physical ailments, there are plenty of mental and emotional reasons why someone may struggle to cry. These include:
Depression
It might sound contradictory but many people with depression struggle to cry. Thats because depression can manifest itself in different ways.
When you think of depression, you might picture someone experiencing knock-you-off-your-feet sadness and distress. But this isnt the case for everyone.
In fact, some people say their depression feels more like overwhelming numbness or emptiness.
They may feel so unemotional or flat that even positive events dont elicit a response. Ultimately, this can result in an ability to cry.
Anhedonia
Imagine you lived and breathed crafting but, one day, it no longer brought you joy. Or, what if, the idea of reuniting with an old friend made you feel nothing.
Its not an uncommon experience and its called anhedonia. Simply put, anhedonia is when you lose interest in the social activities and physical sensations that you once enjoyed.
Its a symptom of many mental health conditions, including depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Not all people with these mental health conditions experience anhedonia. But those who do may struggle to cry.
Repressed emotions
Do you bottle up your emotions? Maybe you feel like youve got to put on a brave face and just get on with it? If so, it may explain your inability to turn on the waterworks.
Societal pressure
In 5 People Are Born With A Trait That Causes Them Feel Emotions Strongly And Cry Easily
Crying is a natural response to sadness, happiness, or overwhelm. But some of us cant deny we cry more easily than those around us. Thats me as a kid, I remember holding back tears at school, summer camp, sleepovers, and anywhere else with a lot of stimuli. Even though other kids would sometimes cry too, I couldnt ignore the fact that they didnt cry nearly as much as me.
As an adult, Im the same. I cry often when Im feeling stressed or overwhelmed, when Im in physical pain, when I listen to a beautiful song, or when my friends are sad. Or, as just happened yesterday, I may find myself ugly crying in a Starbucks while watching a video about an abandoned dog who was rescued.
People dont always like it. Ive gotten everything from good-natured ribbing from friends to outright disapproval, especially if I ever dare to cry in the workplace. But it turns out, my tears are pretty normal. Psychologists believe that roughly 1 in 5 people including both men and women are whats known as highly sensitive people . We feel and process our surroundings more deeply than non-HSPs, including physical stimuli and emotional cues.
In other words: Were experiencing a very different world than everybody else. Emotions really do hit us harder, and many times, that comes in the form of tears.
Why Do I Cry So Easily Male Psychology
By Rik BulthuisThis article may include affiliate links. See our disclaimer.
Sometimes I like to look for what people are searching for on search engines. I saw that there were a lot of searches for: Why do I cry so easily male.
And it hit me. I have been dealing with this all my life. Other men must be facing the same problem. Because every time that I cry, I feel like there is something wrong with me.
I dont cry very often, because I have been influenced to believe that: Real men dont cry. Even if I try to cry, I cant. Im not supposed to.
But there are also men who cry very often. Every day. Or several times per day. Any person would feel like there is something wrong if they cried all the time. But for men, it is even worse because they are taught that they shouldnt cry at all.
You May Like: Unit 1 Test Geometry Basics Answer Key
Preventing The Crying Feeling
Remember, you shouldnt stop yourself from crying. Cry as much as you need to so that you can let out the feeling of needing to cry. Whether you need to cry randomly, are struggling with anxiety and another condition , or are so overwhelmed with anxiety that the tears just flow out, you should let yourself cry for as long as you need to.
In order to stop crying, you have to act before the urge to cry occurs. The only way to prevent the crying feeling that results from anxiety and stress is to engage in anxiety prevention. You need to control the extent of your anxiety and how you react to it emotionally. Then youll be able to reduce your minds emotional response.
SUMMARY:
When a person feels overwhelmed by emotions, including anxiety, crying acts as a natural stress reduction tool. It is typically a sign that a person can benefit from anxiety and stress reduction treatments. Crying itself is healthy when overwhelmed, so is more important to reduce anxiety than it is to find ways to stop crying.
Take Time To Explore Your Reactions
If youve grown accustomed to suppressing or avoiding intense feelings, you might not notice much of a reaction when faced with a deeply emotional situation, such as losing someone you love or missing out on a dream opportunity.
You might have a habit of shrugging off distress instead.
Generally speaking, sitting with unpleasant or unwanted feelings doesnt feel great, but its still an important thing to do.
Denying them disconnects you from your experiences and blocks natural ways of emotional expression, like crying.
Also Check: Unit 1 Geometry Basics Homework 4 Angle Addition Postulate
When Your Heart Rains
It starts with a choking feeling. Your heart feels heavier as your lips begin to tremble. You can feel the wetness in your eyes so you start blinking faster trying to prevent it. As you feel the tears forming up in your eyes and desperately wanting to escape, you give in and let it all out. You let your emotions take over you and you end up crying uncontrollably once again. Thats one of the reasons behind the question of why do you cry easily? Tears catch you when you least expect it, at times and places you dont want to let your emotions loose.
If you let your heart rule your mind, then you will probably find yourself weeping and shedding tears a lot more than others. But thats okay. Its normal for us to cry when we feel overwhelmed, upset or depressed. Crying uncontrollably is not a sign of emotional or psychological weakness.
Crying is a natural response to different emotions from sadness to happiness. You may cry because you are upset about something. While someone else may cry due to loneliness, another person may shed tears of joy. But theres no doubt that crying can help you feel better mentally and emotionally as it releases the chemicals stored in the body due to depression, anxiety, and stress.
Anxiety Can Cause Mild To Severe Depression
Anxiety, as a distinct disorder, can affect your social life, your work life, and your ability to find joy in activities. It also puts a great deal of stress on your mind and body.
Anxiety may reduce your involvement in activities that would usually give you pleasure and fulfillment. If this continues over time, it can lead to depression. In fact, depression is often a comorbid diagnosis with anxiety. In many cases, anxiety comes first and contributes to the development of depression.
Anxiety may not necessarily cause long-lasting depression, but the stress on your brain and the feelings of constant fear and fatigue can often lead to a temporary low mood and, thus, crying.
Also Check: Algebra 2 Radical Worksheet
Why Some People Cry More Than Others
Some people are more likely to cry than others. For starters, women cry 60% more than men. Experts donât exactly know why.
It could be because men:
- Have smaller tear ducts
- Usually have more testosterone, which may inhibit crying
- Have less prolactin, a hormone that might promote tears
- Are often encouraged not to cry
Studies show that people with secure relationship attachments are more comfortable showing emotion. They may cry more in normal and healthy settings, while those with insecure relationship attachments may cry at inappropriate times. Similar research suggests that people who avoid close relationships with others are less likely to cry and try harder to avoid tears. Those with clingy or dependent styles cry more often than those with secure relationships.
The Regulatory Function Of Emotions: Emotional Self
It has been widely attested in the literature that an individuals ability to self-regulate their emotions is a key feature in maintaining social functioning, physical wellbeing, and mental health . Emotional regulation can be defined as the ability to cope with, monitor, and modulate ones own emotional experiences, and refers to behavioral and cognitive processes that coordinate the intensity, duration, and expression of emotions in response to internal and external stimuli . For example, when we find ourselves in circumstances that trigger fear, we can divert our attention away from those elements of the situation that most disturb us and focus instead on other aspects we perceive as less dangerous in order to regulate the intensity of the emotion felt in that moment. Gross distinguishes between antecedent-focused and response-focused strategies: antecedent-focused strategies refer to what individuals do before the emotional response tendencies are fully activated response-focused strategies refer to what people do when the emotional response is in progress . The different strategies can down-regulate or up-regulate emotional experiences: while down-regulation strategies tend to attenuate the emotional response, up-regulation strategies contribute to enhancing and prolonging it, whether it be a positive emotion triggered by a pleasant event, or a negative emotion generated by an unpleasant event.
Read Also: Geometry Dash Sneak Peek 2.0
Hsps May Become Stressed Anxious Or Depressed More Easily
Crying easily can be a symptom of depression, anxiety, or a lot of stress in your life. Since HSPs feel so deeply and can experience sensory overload, were more susceptible to strong feelings of depression or anxiety.
We might feel alone in our sensitivity or isolate ourselves to reduce excess stimuli. Plus, small shifts in life can be harder for HSPs since we are more easily startled and have a tough time with change.
As an HSP, I can feel down, stressed, or anxious from small moments that add up throughout the week, like:
- Helping a friend through something hard and absorbing their sadness
- Getting feedback at work that my brain continues to ruminate on
- Being around too many people and needing alone time
- Feeling too isolated and craving deeper connections
- Drinking too much caffeine, which can cause anxiety in some HSPs
- Thinking too much about the future or past
Before learning I was a highly sensitive person, I wondered why it took so little for me to feel overwhelmed by work, relationships, or just life. Ive been known to start crying mid-week for seemingly no reason and wonder whats wrong with me.
But now, I know Im just more easily overwhelmed and thats okay. I know to dig deeper and pinpoint where the stress or anxiety is coming from. Then, I can address whats causing it.
How Therapy Can Help
If you struggle to cry because youre out of touch with your feelings, you might have trouble expressing emotions in other ways, too. Professional support from a therapist can have many benefits if this is the case.
Getting more comfortable with your emotions is important for not only your intimate relationships but also your overall emotional health.
If you arent certain why you cant cry or express emotions easily, a therapist can offer compassionate guidance and support as you begin exploring this issue.
If youve tried getting more comfortable with intense emotions on your own, but you havent had much success, talking to a therapist might be a helpful next step.
Read Also: Why Was The Pail Pale Answers
Physiology Of Crying A Self
Why do we cry?
Scientists are not entirely sure why we cry. In an area near your eye is the lacrimal system. One part of the system creates tears. The other part lets the tears free by draining the liquid near the eye.
These tears keep your eyes hydrated when you blink. They also cover your eyes during allergies. But we are most interested in why strong emotions release tears surprisingly, scientists are still not entirely sure.
Some signs indicate that tears are meant to play a role in stress relief. For example, when you cry, your tears release leucine enkephalin, a natural painkiller. Other researchers have looked at whether crying is a self-soothing behavior capable of cooling the body and triggering coping mechanisms.
If you are interested in a long, complex read about the self-soothing nature of crying, this research paper is quite interesting.
So the truth is that we do not entirely know why we cry, but we know that there are many potential signs that crying is simply a great way to cope with significant emotion. And when a person has anxiety, crying may be a much-needed coping response.
Why Do We Cry
We cry for a variety of reasons. Your emotions can cause you to cry when youre sad, angry or happy.
Crying for emotional reasons makes you feel better, releases tension and gives you a psychic reboot, Dr. Roizen says.
But there are physical reasons, too, like if youve got dirt in your eye or you experience some physical pain.
Crying also happens for physical reasons to deliver nutrients and wash out stress-related toxins, says Dr. Roizen. And we cry for social reasons to communicate distress, sincerity, attraction, aversion depending on the context.
The fluid that makes up your tears contains water for moisture and oils for lubrication and to prevent your tear liquid from evaporating. Your tears also contain mucus so they can spread evenly across the surface of your eyes. Plus, that mucus contains antibodies and special proteins for resistance to infection. Oxygen and nutrients are also transported to the surface cells of your eyes by tears since there arent blood vessels on your eyes.
There are three kinds of tears, and each kind has a very different job. Some tears keep your eyes moist, while others wash away debris and protect your eyes from infection. Then, there are the emotional tears.
Heres why life would look much blurrier without all three kinds.
Recommended Reading: What Influence Did Geography Have On Greek Society
Why Do I Cry So Easily Psychology
There are a lot of reasons, besides having an immediate emotional response, why you may cry more than normal. Tearfulness is frequently associated with depression and anxiety. People often experience the two conditions at the same time. Certain neurological conditions can also make you cry or laugh uncontrollably.
They Invite Others To Not Run From Their Feelings
I like to cry. Or rather, I dont let myself not be sad when I feel sadness. We are all working to overcome some sort of depressing demon thats trying to tear us down. When we allow ourselves to feel pain when we feel it, were also encouraging others, either people we already know or not, to connect with our pain. To know that youre not alone in thinking, feeling, or even acting a certain way is emotionally liberating and, in extreme cases, life saving.
Those who accept sadness when it stares them in the face allow others to do the same. Recalling the previous point, its dangerous when we keep emotions hidden and buried within. Since sadness has negative associations, we often wont reach out to someone we notice is experiencing difficulty because were afraid, not of the person necessarily but of the act of being deeply upset.
When were honest to our bodies, we allow it to perpetually run at maximum capacity, even when were experiencing tremendous pain.
Weve been seriously discussing good mental health practices for years now. With the dawn of therapy and heavily prescribed feel-good medications, we should all be more appreciative of our biological ability to cry and take full advantage of the natural anxiety-reliever it is.
Because crying shouldnt be perceived as a sign of weakness, but a sign of internal strength and mindfulness.
Don’t Miss: Segment Addition Postulate Coloring Activity
Reasons For Why Am I So Sensitive That I Cry So Easily
There will always be some or the other reason behind your emotions. You dont just begin to cry for no reason at all. Big or small, something is behind your overly sentimental self.
Its not wrong to be a sentimental person, its just important to keep a track on your emotions. Because they sometimes are a signal of an underlying health issue or your body is trying to tell you that it needs attention.
Here are some of the common reasons that might make you a sensitive person
1. Natural emotions
It is natural for all of us to have emotions and to be sentimental. If you are a sensitive person you might cry a lot more than a not so emotional person. Now, this isnt your fault, its just how your emotions work for you.
All you have to take care of is that your sentiments should not interfere with your day to day activities.
2. You Lack sleep
A good sleep is very, very important for us because it really makes our mental, emotional and physical health better. If you have been overly sensitive lately or you begin to cry on everything, it is highly possible that you lack sleep.
3. Dont eat a balanced diet
Your food impacts your health in many ways. You can be cranky all the time if you dont eat properly or stay hungry for a long time. Your body wants to send you a signal by making you a cry baby or someone who is often very serious. All you have to do is avoid fatty, fast food, dont skip meals and eat all your minerals and vitamins.
4. Sensory processing sensitivity