Cry and let others cry — it’s good for health

The moment Sonu started crying, it would tell upon his mother Bina’s nerves. Her blood pressure would soar because the crying session would last 30 to 45 minutes at a stretch, tears trickling down his cheeks all the time. Who would not feel like crying if tortured for such long durations? Well, it was a regular torment for Bina, but she had to go through the ordeal. However, the interesting part of it was that the child’s crying never bothered his father Vinod.

As a matter of fact, he rather welcomed it for what he called “very valid reasons”. Being a health freak, he had found out that crying was healing. So, while Bina would go mad when subjected to incessant crying, her husband would remain cool and composed and never chide their son.

Should some inquisitive person ask about the contradiction in the husband-wife duo’s approach, Vinod would coolly say that crying was good for health and “not crying was bad”. And he would enumerate the statement with logic based on scientific facts — crying provides a window to repressed emotions. It releases tensions and toxins of emotional stresses from the body.

He points to the well-known fact that a person feels lighter and unburdened after crying. A sip of water immediately makes him or her normal. It aids inner calm and peace within. Even though this universal fact is anybody’s experience, it was good to be reminded of it. I could not have but endorsed his views.

Vinod was more elaborate on the scientific explanation. Tears that flow with emotions actually have protein and beta endorphin, which have the natural quality of being pain relievers. Besides, tears lubricate our eyes and kill bacteria in the region. This is nature’s mechanism which need not be impeded.

Crying is a natural trait. An infant conveys his problem by bawling when he is hungry, sleepy, tired or is feeling uncomfortable for some reason. However, when we grow old, we try to contain our emotions and tears that want to come out. So, let tears flow freely. Never suppress them. Any attempt to repress sad feelings only leads to stress and affects health and general well-being.

On several occasions, I have come across cases of women being severely shocked by the sudden death of their husbands. They lost their speech and senses and remained dazed for a long time, eyes fixed onto nothingness. They had to be coaxed and forced to cry because otherwise, the pent-up shock could affect their mental health permanently.

Evidently, this therapy has been saving many a shocked person from debilitating consequences or ruin.

During an informal discussion on this tearful subject, a friend pointed out on a philosophical note how every one of us begins our lives with crying at the time of birth. If the newborn does not cry, the child is given a rap on the back and chest, though this is done essentially to activate the baby’s lungs. In any case, the cry heralds the baby’s arrival into the world.

So, why do we shy away from repeating it later?

The message is that we must utilise every available opportunity to cry, irrespective of age because it is good for everybody’s health. Never repress your emotions. It is widely believed that those who melt easily are endowed with a tender heart and compassion.

On the other hand, in most cases, it is just the opposite with hardboiled people. Their refusal to release their suppressed emotions does not bode well for the their health.

As for your child, next time when he or she weeps, don’t tell him or her: “Enough is enough. Now you stop crying.” Encourage the child to cry. If he or she is sobbing slowly, say: “If you don’t stop, I will thrash you with that cane.” The child will cry full-blast — and with more tears!

The job is done.