Friday, July 31, 2009
does crying solve anything?
Women cry more than man. That is a fact which nobody can change. According to a research done by bio-chemist William Frey in the US, girls and boys cry about the same amount of times until the age of 12. By age 18, women cry on average 4 times more than men.
Blame it on social conditioning. When women cry to express their emotions, nobody will blink an eyelid. But when a man cries, that’s when eyes pop out. They are culturally pressured to control their feelings.
Hormones play another part, in particular, the hormone prolactin which is connected to the production of tears as well as breast milk. Boys and girls have the same level of this until they are 12. The amount in girls then rises so that when they are 18, they have 60% more prolactin than boys.
Tears in men and women are also anatomically different. According to Dr Frey’s research, when men cry, 73% of the time tears don’t fall down their cheeks. But when women cry, it’s like a tap that has been turned on and tears form rivulets down their face.
Crying also relieves stress. When we shed “emotional” tears, they excrete toxins that have been built up inside us due to stress. The act of crying also reduces the body’s level of manganese, a mineral which affects mood.
However, some researchers says that it is not so much crying that makes us feel better but the effect it has on people around us. They will typically respond with sympathy and support and it is this that comforts us.
Whatever the case, it is clear that crying lessens the depth of guilt, whether as a result of lowering stress levels or the sympathy it gets us.
But the bad news is, we cannot cry a problem away. Whatever it was that caused us to be sad, the problem doesn’t disappear when we weep buckets.
I really feel that this article really relates to me very well. As all my friends know, I cry very easily and regularly. Whether it’s because I failed a test, feel stressed out, or just because I feel touched about a scene in a book or movie. After I cry, I would feel like everything inside me has been washed out and that I would be able to start everything again. Sometimes, I would feel so tried that I would fall asleep. When I wake up, I would feel refreshed and recharged. So I guess it really just applies to the individual whether or not crying solves everything. But 1 part of the article which I heartily agree on is that the support and comfort friends shower on me when I cry, is really what made me feel better about everything and garner the courage to tackle the problem. So in an indirect way, crying helps me to solve problems, or should I say most problems. So although I end up looking like hell, all puffy eyed and red nosed, I feel that it’s worth every thing. :D
This information if taken from: The Sunday Times, Lifestyle. 26/07/2009
Done by: Lim Li Jun (8)
3 Sincerity. ¶ 7:58 PM
Blame it on social conditioning. When women cry to express their emotions, nobody will blink an eyelid. But when a man cries, that’s when eyes pop out. They are culturally pressured to control their feelings.
Hormones play another part, in particular, the hormone prolactin which is connected to the production of tears as well as breast milk. Boys and girls have the same level of this until they are 12. The amount in girls then rises so that when they are 18, they have 60% more prolactin than boys.
Tears in men and women are also anatomically different. According to Dr Frey’s research, when men cry, 73% of the time tears don’t fall down their cheeks. But when women cry, it’s like a tap that has been turned on and tears form rivulets down their face.
Crying also relieves stress. When we shed “emotional” tears, they excrete toxins that have been built up inside us due to stress. The act of crying also reduces the body’s level of manganese, a mineral which affects mood.
However, some researchers says that it is not so much crying that makes us feel better but the effect it has on people around us. They will typically respond with sympathy and support and it is this that comforts us.
Whatever the case, it is clear that crying lessens the depth of guilt, whether as a result of lowering stress levels or the sympathy it gets us.
But the bad news is, we cannot cry a problem away. Whatever it was that caused us to be sad, the problem doesn’t disappear when we weep buckets.
I really feel that this article really relates to me very well. As all my friends know, I cry very easily and regularly. Whether it’s because I failed a test, feel stressed out, or just because I feel touched about a scene in a book or movie. After I cry, I would feel like everything inside me has been washed out and that I would be able to start everything again. Sometimes, I would feel so tried that I would fall asleep. When I wake up, I would feel refreshed and recharged. So I guess it really just applies to the individual whether or not crying solves everything. But 1 part of the article which I heartily agree on is that the support and comfort friends shower on me when I cry, is really what made me feel better about everything and garner the courage to tackle the problem. So in an indirect way, crying helps me to solve problems, or should I say most problems. So although I end up looking like hell, all puffy eyed and red nosed, I feel that it’s worth every thing. :D
This information if taken from: The Sunday Times, Lifestyle. 26/07/2009
Done by: Lim Li Jun (8)
3 Sincerity. ¶ 7:58 PM
Post a Comment