Re: So Laughter is Good Medicine, What About Crying?
Linkat wrote:I heard that tears produced by emotional crying contain more protein than tears caused by irritants. One study compared chemical tears (caused by onions) and emotional tears and found that chemical tears were 98 percent water, while emotional tears contained more toxins. So it is believed that these tears actually remove toxic substances from the body. An added bonus is that crying may cleanse the mind. Researchers are examining the contents of emotional tears for certain substances, which are released by stress. So basically it is believed that emotional tears may be important in the maintenance of physical health and emotional balance.
I wonder what tears from laughter do?
As an expert in crying, I feel the need to point out one negative:
Facial expression researchers have found that making a frown actually makes you feel sad, and sad more often.
Similarly, if you cry often, it may make you feel worse. I know that when I am sad enough to cry I usually feel sad all day, and my eyes feel all icky. Even if I have gotten over whatever I cried about I even feel a twinge of sadness when I see my distorted face in the mirror.
So maybe the self-empathy of a crying face reduces the positive mental and physical benefits of release?
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