Crying can be a normal reaction to a highly emotional experience.
It is a great way to express our emotions and share them with others. It can be an expression of sadness, depression, or helplessness. But it can also occur when we are overwhelmed by happiness, love and joy.
Why Crying Occurs
Researchers are studying the mechanisms behind why people cry , but it is assumed that there are many factors involved.
It is a mystery why people cry for pleasant or unpleasant emotions. However, some explanations are possible.
According to one model, the limbic system’s (the brain’s emotional processing center), which triggers the lacrimal glands into producing tears, responds to the intensity of emotional arousal. It does not matter if it is positive or negative.
The tears may be a reaction to an intense emotional experience, a way to bring the emotions to a more neutral state.
Achievement Tears
They are often associated with a feeling of pride. These tears may be shed when we accomplish something for which we have worked hard or when we are recognized for our achievements. It may be when we achieve something we have been working towards or see someone we love doing something amazing.
In their study, the researchers found that positive tears accounted for 29% of all tears.
Beauty Tears
Beauty Tears may be shed when experiencing something that is overwhelmingly beautiful, such as a natural wonder, or an exceptional work of art. It’s the feeling of awe that brings about beauty tears.
The study found that these positive tears account for about 8%.
Affection Tears
These tears are associated to love, warmth and compassion. They are shed when we witness unexpected kindness or passionate displays of affection. These tears can be shared with friends, family, newborns, romantic partners and even babies.
The most common type of tears examined was those of affection. They accounted for about 55% of all positive tears.
Amusement Tears
When we laugh so loudly that we start to cry, we get these tears. These tears are often accompanied by fits of laughter and situations which are ridiculously funny. These tears tend to be lighter and carefree.
Only 3 % of positive tears are classified as amusement tears.
The final 5% of the data was difficult to categorize, and did not easily fit into one of the four categories.
When we experience a variety of emotions at once, such as feeling sad and joyful all at the same moment, tears can appear.
Crying allows us to express and release intense emotions. It is also a great way to share and create memories.
