People cry for many reasons. Crying can be triggered by pain, sadness, relief, joy, laughter and more. For most people, tears come naturally like breathing. But did you know that there are several things about tears and crying that many people aren’t aware of?
Like, for instance, the fact that there are more than one kind of tears, or that people use tears as a means to communicate better to others? Read on and learn more about these amazing facts.
1. There are three types of tears.
“Basal tears” are always present. They help prevent infection and keep the eyes consistently moist. Another is “irritation tears” which occur when our eyes react to something such as dicing onions. The third one is called “emotional tears” which of course happen when we become emotional and start to cry.
2. Emotional tears, as some put it, are a means for us to better communicate with others.
According to Robert Provine, without tears the face look less sad and that tears amplify how sad a face looks.
3. Tears communicate the level of pain a person is in.
People tend to sympathize more with people who cry according to a study which found that those who are crying are perceived to need help more than those who aren’t, even after experiencing the same incident.
4. Tears can be faked, and children are very good at using them to manipulate adults.
Kalu Singh of Cambridge University says that crying is a strategy that many kids find very effective and that they are very good at faking tears to get what they want.
5. Tears are literally therapeutic for many people.
Psychotherapist Ruthie Smith said that crying is one way for people to release negative energy from their bodies. After crying, they’ll “feel a lot calmer and more balanced.”
6. Not all tears convey sadness. Some people cry out of joy.
Oriana Aragon, a Yale social psychologist said that tears can occur when a person becomes overwhelmed with emotions such as joy and happiness. She suggests that it’s a natural mechanism by people can return to a more neutral emotional state.
7. Tears of joy may also include tears of sadness.
Aragon added that the so-called tears of joy are believed by some to actually be caused by non-conscious feelings of sadness or helplessness.
8. Humans aren’t the only ones who cry.
While there’s an absence of actual tears, primates show the same facial expressions as humans when they cry. And in 2014, an elephant cried after being released from 50 years of captivity involving spiked chains.
(via 22Words)
Crying is undoubtedly one of the many ways humans communicate with each other. Aside from the usual talking, touching or body language, tears can effectively help one express his or her genuine emotions.
