What are cry spells?

The factors below can cause a person to cry more than usual or without an apparent reason.

Hormonal changes that occur around the time of menstruation can cause emotional and physical symptoms. Doctors refer to these symptoms collectively as premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

A 2013 study reports that as many as 75% of women of reproductive age experience PMS.

Crying spells are one symptom of PMS. Some related symptoms that may occur shortly before or during a period include:

The body goes through many hormonal changes during and after pregnancy. These changes can influence a person’s mood, causing them to cry more than usual.

Most people experience feelings of sadness and emptiness within a few days of giving birth. If these feelings last for more than 2 weeks, they can indicate postpartum depression.

Other symptoms of postpartum depression can include:

Burnout describes extreme mental and physical exhaustion that a person may experience when exposed to excessive, prolonged stress.

It can affect a person’s ability to regulate their negative emotions, which may lead to emotional outbursts and crying.

Some other features of burnout include:

Anxiety is a mental health condition that involves increased levels of fear, worry, or panic. It affects around 40 million adults in the United States each year.

Anxiety can make people feel vulnerable and out of control — feelings that can cause a person to cry. If this happens, the reasons may not be clear.

Some other symptoms of anxiety include:

Depression is a mental health condition characterized by a low mood that lasts weeks, months, or years.

A person with depression may cry more readily or frequently than a person without it. Some other symptoms can include:

Grief is a complex process that occurs when someone loses someone or something important to them. The process is different for everyone, but crying is often part of it.

Some people experience delayed or prolonged grief that does not improve over time. Experts refer to this as “complicated” or “unresolved” grief. It can cause a person to cry suddenly or without warning.

Other symptoms of complicated or unresolved grief include:

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a neurological condition that can increase a person’s propensity to cry. Other names for this condition include:

PBA occurs because of a disconnect between the frontal lobes of the brain and the cerebellum and brain stem. The frontal lobes control emotions, while the cerebellum and brain stem help regulate reflexes.

A disconnect between these areas can lead to emotional dysregulation, which may lead to uncontrollable crying, anger, or laughter.

PBA can occur as a result of:

• Slow your breath.
• Loosen your facial muscles and throat where you can get that lump.
• Try smiling.
• Push your tongue into the roof of your mouth.
• Drink water.
• Think of something mundane like a poem or recipe you know by heart to distract yourself.
• Look at something soothing.

Crying spells involve frequent and uncontrollable crying. It's certainly possible to experience crying spells in anxiety. These are potentially triggered by anxiety or panic attacks, chronic stress, and even the side effects of anxiety medication.

Crying spells can be caused by certain neurological disorders, mental health illnesses, and times of hormonal change during the life course (such as during pregnancy).

Pseudobulbar affect is a neurological condition that can occur due to:⁶

It’s also important to note that crying spells can occur in these conditions even without having a pseudobulbar affect, such as multiple sclerosis.

Pseudobulbar affect is characterized by frequent, involuntary, and often inappropriate laughter or crying spells that are difficult to control and stop.

Sometimes, pseudobulbar affect is mistaken for depression since the two conditions have similar symptoms, such as crying spells.

Compared to depression, the crying spells experienced in pseudobulbar affect may be more explosive in onset and shorter in duration, and they are not associated with long-term internal sadness. In pseudobulbar affect, the crying spells are often also described as mood-incongruent, meaning the patient may cry when they are very happy.

Some mental health causes of crying spells include:

For some women, hormonal changes during pregnancy can lead to crying spells.

When pregnant women have crying spells, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have depression — they may cry for no apparent reason or trigger.

However, if other symptoms of depression are also present, it may suggest depression is a contributing factor to the crying spells.

Uncontrollable crying is a behavioral symptom of depression. To the person, they may feel as if they are crying for no reason, but it’s likely that in these instances, depression is the underlying cause. Speaking with a doctor can help the patient understand exactly why their depression is making them cry.