Does Crying Cleanse Your Soul ?

Question

Does crying make you breathe easier ?
Is it a good thing ?

Answer 1

It absolutely cleanses the soul. It's a way to get all that emotional junk out.

Answer 2

No, I have trouble breathing when I cry, and I always get a cold afterward. I have mixed feelings about crying. Most people see it as a weakness. When I was younger I used to be extremely sensitive and I would cry almost of the time, even if I didn't want to. Now I can only cry when something really devastating happens, but this has its downside as well, because I've found crying can relieve stress. So I feel it can be either bad or good, but personally I don't like it, and if I can hold it in, I will.

Answer 3

Different strokes for different folks. How does it make YOU feel?
I can't imagine how it could cleanse your soul, & I think some of the answerers didn't realize you meant the second question as a metaphor. I've been criticized because I NEVER cry--as trying to be macho, or just unfeeling. Not true. Just isn't something I do in the most painful emotional times. Also, getting unhinged would seem to "validate" what you're crying about, not get you through it or change it.

Answer 4

I don't know for sure if crying cleanses the soul but I do know crying is a great way to relieve stress; sometimes its good and sometimes its bad; too little and it can create stress and to much can restrict your breathing and heart rate, that why Doctors when babies are stressed and crying recommend rocking or walking with infants and using pacifiers or fingers for sucking or singing to an infant, I found the best method is just a good old fashion cuddle.

Answer 5

it is a natural process ..........
It is a widespread belief in the western world that crying is therapeutic and also the converse, that failure to cry is a danger to our health. Randolph Cornelius (1986) systematically analysed the content of popular articles on weeping in the press from 1850 to 1985 and found a major theme was that crying was considered an important means of releasing physiological tensions; if it wasn't released, it would find an outlet in some other way, such as affecting the person's body and possibly causing disease. 94% of articles recommended letting tears flow.

Psychotherapists and counsellors from nearly every school or persuasion regard crying during the process of therapy as constructive rather than destructive, though there may be some exceptions to this general rule such as depression, some neuropsychological conditions and manipulative crying. Sometimes a patient enters the therapy office for the first session and may cry with relief within minutes in the presence of the therapist, who is effectively a total stranger. Often patients who cry during sessions whilst talking about subjects of crucial emotional importance to them, spontaneously say how much better they feel or may report in the next session how they were upset at the time but felt much better afterwards. Whereas in normal life people may try to steer others away from crying, in therapy the psychologist often steers into crying.

From a biological perspective three kinds of tears are distinguished (Lutz 1999); "Basal tears" are continuous and lubricate our eyes; "reflex or infant tears" occur when we chop onions or receive a blow to the eye; "emotional tears" are psychologically caused. Frey, Desota-Johnson, Hoffman & McCall (1981) present experimental evidence of the difference between the biochemical composition of emotional tears compared to irritant tears. The protein concentration of emotional tears was 24% greater than irritant tears. The complex proteins in emotional tears were those involved in the human stress response. Frey et al proposed that tears performed a sort of physical catharsis, expelling toxins from the body

Answer 6

I find crying to be very cleansing. It is definately an emotional release. It makes my nose stuffed up, so no it doesn't make me breathe easier. I think it is a good thing, because it is a safe way to release your emotions.

Answer 7

I don't know about cleansing my soul, but sure, it makes me breathe easier. That's a good thing.

Answer 8

I know it cleanses your eyes but im not sure about it making it easier to breathe

Answer 9

Your main question was does crying cleanse your soul???///No I don't think crying cleanses your soul..........Only Repentence does.....................You can cry till your blue in the face, and breathing easier has nothing to do with your soul.......

Answer 10

Yes, crying is a cleansing thing. It's a release of emotional overload and we all need that sometimes.