What makes you cry? Being moved by a soppy or sad movie, waving a loved one off, or getting emotional after splitting up with your partner can all cause tears to roll down our faces. We all have the power to cry, but is that a good thing?

 

When you think about it, shedding tears from your eyes is an odd thing to do. But it seems to be an automatic reaction when we get sad, upset or even when we're very happy. What triggers this reaction differs from person to person. However, the feeling is the same - your cheeks puff¹ up, your eyes tighten² and before you know it, tears are streaming down your face. Some of us may sniffle a little while others might cry like a baby - and some people suggest that it's women who cry more than men.

 

A study in the UK in 2017 found that women admitted that they cry 72 times a year. This was, on average, more than men. Writing for the BBC, Adam Rutherford says "according to pretty much every study done, women do cry more than men, and this result has been consistent since we've been looking." But does this mean men don't get as upset or emotional as women, or are they just more embarrassed about showing their true feelings? The debate continues.

 

One place where we experience emotional and tearful outbursts is in the workplace. This can be somewhere where emotions run high - someone might be stressed, their workload³ might be too much, and, as therapist, Joanna Cross told the BBC, "crying is often a build-up of frustration⁴ and undealt-with situations and it's a bit of a final straw moment." She describes how someone might start weeping when they're just asked to make a cup of tea because, "actually that's often a backlog⁵ of situations."

 

But crying in the office or elsewhere can be cathartic⁶: it can actually make you feel better. Maybe it dissolves or clears the negative or sad feelings you've had. Bawling⁷ your eyes out shows others how you feel, so perhaps it's a crying shame that more of us, particularly men, don't cry more often.

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