Psychology, clinical relevance of crying

Philip Afeti Korto Health Sep - 03 - 2024 , 09:57

According to scientific research, the human body releases hormones such as endorphins and oxytocin when a person cries.

These hormones help people to relieve emotional distress along with physical or emotional pain.

In other words, crying is necessary because it is a self-soothing behaviour. As such, it is worth learning about the psychological and clinical aspects of crying. That is the impetus of this piece.

Clinical Definition

Clinically, crying may be defined as a complex secretomotor phenomenon characterised by the shedding of tears from the lacrimal apparatus, without any irritation of the ocular structures. It may equally be defined as the secretion of liquid containing proteins, enzymes, lipids and other substances from the lacrimal apparatus, a group of small organs around the eye.

Psychological definition

Psychologically, however, crying is believed to be an outlet or result of a burst of intense emotional sensations such as agony, surprise or overexcitement.

This is why some people cry during times of grief while others also cry even during cheerful social events such as graduation ceremonies, birthday parties and others. One, therefore, hears of tears of joy when a person experiences a nostalgic moment.

In Ghana, however, we hear of people who induce crying at funeral grounds as a form of economic activity.

Types of tears

Regardless of the clinical and psychological definitions of crying provided above, every crying produces tears and this has nothing to do with the cause of the crying.

There are three types of human tears namely basal, reflex and emotional.

A basal tear occurs when the tear ducts constantly secret basal tears, which are protein-rich antibacterial liquids that help to keep the eyes moist every time a person blinks.

Reflex tears are triggered by irritants such as wind, smoke and onions. They are released to flush out these irritants and to protect the eye.

An emotional tear results from humans shedding tears in response to a range of emotions such as pain (physical or psychological) and joy. Emotional tears contain a higher level of stress hormones than other types of tears.

Regardless of the types of tears identified above, when people refer to crying, they usually mean the shedding of emotional tears.

Benefits and dangers of crying

Crying is tantamount to a two-edged sword. It can be beneficial to human health and it can also be harmful to health depending on circumstances.

In terms of benefits, crying gives soothing effects to the crier or weeper, attracts emotional or physical support for the crier, helps to relieve pain or grief, is a mood enhancer, releases toxins and relieves stress, improves sleep, fights bacteria as tears contain a fluid called lysozyme and basal tears improve vision.

Crying at birth

Aside from the foregoing benefits, doctors and midwives cherish a baby’s cry at birth. When a baby is delivered, it is exposed to cold air and a new environmental condition.

This often makes a newborn baby cry right away. This first cry helps to expand the baby’s lungs and expel amniotic fluid and mucus.

It thus shows that the baby is in good health and sensitive to stimuli and that its lungs are working properly and fit for breathing. However, if the newborn baby’s heart rate is normal and it is breathing correctly, then one must not worry so much that the baby did not cry at birth. As such, not crying at birth is not necessarily a red flag that the baby is ill or has a defect.

It could be that the baby’s cry is delayed because some fluid is stuck in the baby’s nose or mouth. Suctioning the fluid out usually results in crying. This is why midwives keep and examine the newborn baby for a while before handing it over to its mother.

Contrary to the benefits identified, crying can equally be harmful to health. In terms of bad effects, crying can lead to fits and it can cause acute shortness of breath.

Crying can also cause cardiac arrest among people who have severe heart conditions.

Also, ophthalmic experts argue that because tears are made from the blood, vessels carrying blood to our eyes can dilate or become bigger to allow for more passage of blood.

This can contribute to redness and puffiness of the eyes, eyelids and surrounding skin.

Prolonged crying may equally lead to the stagnation of tears in the drainage system. This can promote the growth of bacteria, viruses and fungi which cause infection and inflammation of the eye.

Mindful of the benefits of crying, however, doctors sometimes do not console patients who cry as a result of the break of bad clinical news in the consulting room. In such situations, some doctors even encourage the patient to cry before counselling begins.

Conclusion

Crying is a natural response humans have to a range of emotions- cheerful or grievous events or stimuli. Crying is beneficial to health. However, frequent and prolonged crying for no reason could be a sign of depression. In such cases, the crier must be encouraged to see a doctor.

It is clear from the piece that human beings are crying creatures. They begin crying at birth and throughout the vicissitudes of life but when they die, other people cry for them as a form of expressing sorrow or psychological pain.

Depending on various circumstances, crying has good and bad effects on human health. However, more benefits than bad effects of crying have been assembled in clinical literature.

The writer is a Hospital Administrator
Email:afetikorto@yahoo.com