For all the times you have cried and shamed yourself! Here is some permission.
Crying is a natural response to many situations. It relieves stress, it effectively self-soothes and brings the parasympathetic nervous system online. It releases oxytocin and endorphins, some of the happy chemicals. It even aids sleep – this is one I can validate. I often feel exhausted after a good cry. If I can, I take a nap and wake up feeling SO much better.
I wonder how it would be if we were to shift our relationship with our tears? If instead of pushing them back, we allowed them? Nobody has ever not stopped crying. Eventually.
I often think of tears as a release of pent up energy – an expression of something that touches us deeply. Tears make us MORE human.
We can connect through tears.
Does this resonate?
Big Hugs, Jen
Reference:
- Millings, A., Hepper, E. G., Hart, C. M., Swift, L., & Rowe, A. C. (2016). Holding Back the Tears: Individual Differences in Adult Crying Proneness Reflect Attachment Orientation and Attitudes to Crying. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 1003.
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