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It's important that any medical concern should first be ruled out before assuming the inability to cry is psychological. However, there are steps to help oneself produce tears and connect with one's emotions, after learning that it's not a medical concern.
Not everyone likes to express their emotions publicly or feel comfortable doing so. Therefore, find a safe space, like your bedroom or a quiet area in a park, to express your emotions.
Talking with someone doesn't have to involve formal therapy. Sometimes all you need is a trusted friend or family member to let your emotions out.
In order to feel comfortable with your emotions, you could write down how you feel and acknowledge that it's natural to feel a certain way. It also helps to express how you feel out loud.
You may purposefully block out emotional responses. Taking time to explore how you feel when something happens may help reconnect with suppressed emotions.
Sometimes crying even helps decrease the tension and intensity of emotions, allowing you to reset.
Crying can also give you a mental reset, helping to improve clarity and focus.
Crying helps with not only emotional pain, but it can also provide relief for physical pain.
A good cry can help boost mood in times of stress and other emotional difficulties.
Crying also flushes out dust, eyelashes, makeup, or other debris from our eyes.
Crying conveys a lot of unspoken communication, including sadness and happiness.
Crying is important because it provides a much-needed emotional and even physical release, for both men and women.
If you grew up in an environment that lacked emotional support and validation, you may have difficulty acknowledging and expressing your emotions. Many survivors of childhood emotional neglect find that they struggle to identify when they're sad, and therefore struggle to cry.
In most cases, being unable to cry isn't a bad thing. Many people don't feel the need to cry, and are able to show emotions in other ways, and there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that.
When we push away difficult or painful emotions, this is repression. People who have experienced trauma, abuse, and grief commonly repress emotions, which can prevent someone from crying.
While not everyone will experience mental health symptoms the same way, an inability to cry is common for people with certain mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder.
If you grew up in a family who didn't express sadness through crying, you might be more likely to express your feelings that same way they did.
When we're raised with the message that crying is shameful or wrong, we carry that with us, often resulting in adults who believe that crying isn't okay.
Anhedonia describes a loss of interest in activities and things that used to bring them joy. This is often a result of a medical or mental health condition.
Gender stereotypes, such as the belief that men shouldn't cry or feel emotional pain, can keep many people feeling that they can't cry.
In addition to medical reasons, several other factors can decrease tear production or make crying difficult.
Although we might not lose the desire to cry, we produce fewer tears as we age.
People who live in a dry climate may notice it's difficult to produce tears. It can also occur due to extensive smoke from wildfires or other sources of pollution.
Pollutants and allergens can affect our tear ducts and our eyes, making it more difficult to cry.
Many cultures teach that it's not acceptable to cry in adulthood, especially for men. If you grew up with the message that crying was considered unacceptable and shameful, you might feel uncomfortable crying.
Often referred to as "dry eyes," KCS occurs when the tissues around the eye are inflamed and dry, making people unable to cry. It's one of the most common reasons people need to visit an eye doctor.
Several medical conditions can make crying difficult or impossible. Many of these conditions have medications and other treatments available, so seek the support from a medical professional.
This autoimmune disorder is often accompanied by dry eyes and a dry mouth, which can make it difficult for a person to produce tears.
Many prescription medications can have side effects such as an inability to produce tears or a lack of emotional expression. For example, many antidepressants can cause or exacerbate dry eye.
If other steps don't work or aren't enough, consider going to therapy, where you can express your emotions and learn to cry.
Sources: (Choosing Therapy) (Medical News Today)
See also: Signs that you’re emotionally intelligent
Crying is a natural reaction to stressors, pain, and sadness, but sometimes people just can't do it. There are several explanations, and most are very normal. Although it can lead to frustration and the sense that something is wrong with you, in most cases, not being able to cry is not something to worry about. However, it may also be due to medical or mental health reasons.
Click on to learn more about the possible reasons you can't cry.
Reasons why you might not be able to cry
There are social, psychological, and medical causes
HEALTH Emotions
Crying is a natural reaction to stressors, pain, and sadness, but sometimes people just can't do it. There are several explanations, and most are very normal. Although it can lead to frustration and the sense that something is wrong with you, in most cases, not being able to cry is not something to worry about. However, it may also be due to medical or mental health reasons.
Click on to learn more about the possible reasons you can't cry.