ARTICLE SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION ON CARERS-HEALINGSPUR
It is Good to Shed Tears
By H L Morris
There are several reasons why we cry, there are tears caused by sadness, sympathy, anger, happiness, fear, and anxiety. Science
has proved that the effect on us of having a good cry is good for us as the composition of tears include toxins that are released
when we cry, and it has been found that emotional tears contain toxins that are not found in those that only lubricate the eyes.
Stressful emotional tears carry a hormone that is linked to physical conditions such as heart problems, peptic ulcers, and other conditions.
The excretion of certain toxins in tears certainly helps to relieve emotional stress, and the salt in tears acts as an antiseptic which prevents
eye infections. Most people certainly do feel better after a good cry, and it is important for those who suffer from dry eye syndrome to consult
their doctor. There are other reasons why some people do not find it easy to cry, for example they may have been brought up to believe that it
is shameful, and that brave people do not cry this only leads to bottling up emotions leading to stress. It is important for both men and women
to shed tears and cry. The fact that adult women have higher prolactin levels than adult men accounts for women shedding more tears particularly
emotional tears during pregnancy. These days the world recession may give many people
reason to cry, difficult circumstances, sadness, illness, loss, or many other stressful reasons, but always remember there are also tears of joy
if we look for them, even tears of gratitude, and the fact that as long as we are alive our tears are never in vain as nature is a wonderful thing,
and we are comforted by a feel good factor afterwards, so we should go ahead and have a good cry.
There has never been a thorough adequate enough observation whether animals shed emotional tears or not, and I can only go by my own experience
observing my own pets, particularly my dogs while studying their eyes, facial expression, and the circumstances in which they were tearing.
Although I have been given many different reasons why they could not have been crying emotional tears I am sure that they did. Irritation of the
eyes does cause tearing particularly in small dogs as their stature is close to the ground so they tend to pick up dust particles. However that
does not explain why when I leave my dog for a certain length of time his eyes are wet when I return, or when my dog is told off and hides behind
the sofa his eyes are wet when he eventually comes out, or when one of my dogs died his mate's eyes were constantly tearing for weeks, plus other
examples I could give when an animal has been injured.. It is controversial to suspect animals have emotional tears although they have been observed
in Indian elephants, and there have been reports also in dogs, wolves, seals, gorillas, and other animals. There is excellent information about
tears in this link. www.aquaticape.org/tears.html
There is no doubt that tears are healing, from the beginning of creation God gave us tears for which we should be grateful, they are always shed
for a good reason happy or sad, they are a miracle we should make more use of.
"Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts"
Charles Dickens
www.associatedcontent.com/article/383877/why_crying_is_good_for_you.html?cat=5
