Building Emotional Resilience or A Complete Breakdown?
Crying – it’s a natural response to sorrow.
It is a coping mechanism to deal with the turbulence of emotions that arise within us when something undesired happens.
Whether we receive a rejection or fail a crucial test of life, we instinctively break down.
When a child comes into this world, it cries…
When our loved ones depart, we cry for them, grieving their loss…
We have a common perception that crying lightens our heart and relieves the pressure on the soul. And that’s right.
When we are surrounded by misery, pouring out our hearts seems the easiest way to ease the sadness, as it prevents depressing emotions from overpowering us.
But that’s the only side of the coin we have come to know. In fact, a recent report presents the view that not crying, but the reason for weeping is the real factor that determines its impact on us.
The research, conducted on over a thousand people in Europe, utilized advanced technology to track their crying experiences in real time and analyze their subsequent frame of mind.
The study puts it very clearly –
Crying doesn’t have an immediate effect. A person’s feelings undergo a transition after about an hour.
Negativity releases itself, anxiety vanishes, and the mood starts to improve gradually.
When the mirror of the mind turns hazy with despair, tears wipe it clean, enabling us to see our reflection again.
This provides emotional stability, encouraging positive thoughts and a lot of retrospection.
But a solitary cry can be extremely exhausting. If the person is already in a lot of distress, it can increase the stress levels instead of lowering them. Loneliness aggravates the sentimental imbalance, pushing the person into depression.
If you sob in a supportive environment, it will calm you down. Revealing your inner turmoil in front of trusted individuals or groups like your friends or family reduces your emotional stress.
A few assurances from them will provide you with solace, letting go of your feelings of regret and resentment.
But figuring out the reason for your despondence is the key to rebuilding and returning to your initial, balanced self. Wailing due to loneliness, relationship conflict, recurring failure, or trauma can result in long-lasting erosion of your mental state.
The situation worsens in the absence of support. But if the sentiments overflow due to cinematic or musical engagement, or tender moments, shedding a few tears soothes your soul.
Now, returning to the question put forward in the beginning, whether it gives you an emotional anchor or destroys you beyond repair, I would say – it all depends upon you.
You and your circumstances ascertain whether you will be able to stand strong through the tide or give up in the process…