why am i crying?
Most of us cry from time to time. It’s a healthy way to express how you’re feeling and release built-up stress or sadness. Some people cry more than others, but sometimes, it can become excessive. If you’re crying for no reason or more than you’d like, it’s important to know that help is available if you need it.
There are 3 types of tears: basal, reflex and emotional.
1. Basal tears are important for eye health. They stop the eyes drying out and protect eyesight.
2. Reflex tears happen in response to irritation. When we get something in our eyes, our eyes will water with reflex tears to wash away the dirt.
3. Emotional tears happen when we feel strong feelings, like sadness caused by grief or pain, happiness or joy. Lots of animals, like us, make tears to keep their eyes healthy, but emotional crying is uniquely human.
‘Scientists think that crying helped us develop social bonds by letting others know we needed help,’ says Dr Oyefeso. ‘If someone’s crying, people are likely to be kinder and more understanding towards them.’
Shedding tears is a natural reaction to negative or positive feelings. ‘Crying is a sign that you’re processing emotions,’ says Dr Oyefeso.
‘It increases endorphins, the feel-good hormones that improve your mood. It can also help you relax by decreasing stress hormones like cortisol. This is why you might feel much better after a good cry.’
Other benefits of crying include:
Everyone is different when it comes to how easily, how often or why we cry.
‘Babies and young children cry when tired, hungry or frustrated, as they can’t communicate any other way. Teens may cry more due to hormonal changes, and adults might cry more during times of intense stress or sadness,’ explains Dr Oyefeso.
Although crying is usually a natural response to emotional triggers, feeling like you’re crying for no reason can be worrying. There are several key reasons why this can happen:
Crying more often, or without knowing why, may be a sign of a mental health condition like depression, postnatal depression or bipolar disorder.
‘If you’re worried your crying is due to a mental health condition, speak to a doctor or therapist,’ says Dr Oyefeso. ‘They can help you understand what’s going on and identify the best way to address it.’
Hormonal imbalances can cause changes in mood that might cause you to cry more easily. Changes in hormone levels caused by pregnancy, menopause or premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can all impact your mood.
Sometimes medications can cause changes in mood as a side effect. If your medication causes mood swings, speak to a doctor. They may be able to alter your dosage or switch you to a different medication.
Physical and emotional exhaustion can lower your threshold for crying, so getting plenty of rest can help.
PBA is a condition that causes uncontrollable crying or laughing. It can affect people with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury or stroke.
‘Medication can help regulate outbursts if you have PBA, so if you’re struggling, talk to a doctor or mental health professional,’ Dr Oyefeso advises.
Crying is an important self-soothing mechanism, but sometimes it’s not always convenient to let the tears flow. Dr Oyefeso shares some tips on how to temporarily stop crying:
Remember, while these are temporary techniques to stop crying in the moment, it’s not a good idea to stifle your tears all the time. Crying can be a beneficial way to cope with stress.
There are some more serious symptoms to look out for:
‘There are many possible causes of excessive crying, so always see a doctor to determine any underlying medical conditions. Once a medical condition has been ruled out, there are a few different treatment options,’ says Dr Oyefeso.
‘One option is talking therapy, which can help you understand and process your emotions healthily. You may also be prescribed medication to help regulate your mood.
‘Whatever treatment option you choose, it’s important to remember that help is available if you find yourself struggling to control your tears,’ reassures Dr Oyefeso.
Even the most random bouts of crying usually have an explanation. Grief and emotion don’t always come out in predictable patterns. However, if the crying you are experiencing feels really out of left field, it might be the result of an underlying brain issue. Rest assured, though, that this explanation is unlikely.
Here is why you might be crying more than usual.
Depression can cause a host of symptoms, including:
Depression is common, and symptoms can differ from person to person. Some people may experience episodes of seemingly unexplained crying. Others may find themselves crying more than usual.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with depression are more likely to suffer from other conditions such as anxiety disorders.
Anxiety is a complex state characterized by feelings of intense worry, panic, and fear in anticipation of a perceived danger, and is often accompanied by other physical and cognitive symptoms. Certain people with anxiety may feel overwhelmed and more likely to cry over seemingly mundane things.
People with bipolar disorder have extreme highs and lows. Along with these unpredictable mood swings may come outbursts of emotion, including crying. Not everyone with bipolar has the same ratio of highs and lows. There are two main types of bipolar:
Some people may have symptoms of bipolar disorder but don’t fit neatly into these categories.
Your tears are made up of more than water and salt. There is some evidence that emotional tears (in contrast to tears formed in response to things like yawning) contain substances like hormones and prolactin.
Hormonal changes may explain why some people seem to cry for no reason. Sometimes, the hormone changes are expected. People who are pregnant, for example, may find themselves crying more easily. The flood of hormones due to pregnancy is typical.
Other times, hormonal changes that lead to crying are part of an underlying condition, like premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). PMDD can cause:
The onset of the disorder typically happens about a week or so before menstruation. Symptoms usually subside during menstruation.
Some people may also feel more emotional while menstruating because of hormone changes.
Neurological disease can also cause crying for no reason. When crying is the result of a brain disorder, there is no reason for it aside from the physical condition. PBA is a symptom of many neurological diseases, including:
People with PBA can also experience other random emotional outbursts, including anger. Rapid changes in emotions are also possible. Going from anger to laughing in an instant, for example, can happen in people with PBA. These emotional episodes are typically very short-lived.
If you think your expressions of emotion are out of the norm or excessive, you should speak to a medical or mental health professional. If you are crying for no reason and find that it interferes with your regular activities, don’t hesitate to seek help.
Treatments for depression, anxiety disorders, and other mental health conditions may include:
Often, medical professionals will recommend a combination of therapies for maximum effect.
There are several ways to cope with mental illness. Seeking professional help is the first step. A professional can help you figure out the best treatment option—whether that includes medication, therapy, mindfulness techniques, or a combination of these. Some people may find it helpful to join a support group.
If you have PBA, you may struggle to deal with your symptoms. The American Stroke Association suggests the following coping mechanisms:
People rarely cry for absolutely no reason at all. If you are crying a lot, feeling down, or find your emotional outbursts are causing problems in your day-to-day life, it may be time to see a healthcare provider.
Crying that is out of the ordinary can be a sign of depression, anxiety, or other conditions. Thankfully, most causes of unexplained crying can be managed and treated.
There are a variety of feelings, issues, or conditions that could be making you cry. Many of these can be small issues that build over time, causing them to sneak up on you. Here are some examples of feelings and conditions that crying could be a symptoms of:
Stress is a common part of life, and it can often be ignored in favor of productivity or because it feels too overwhelming to deal with. However, stress will continue to build until it’s released, and excessive or intense stress can even contribute to health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease.
Because stress can build slowly, you may not be aware of the amount of stress and pressure you feel. Crying is one way in which stress releases itself, so if you find yourself crying out of nowhere, your stress levels may be too high for your body or mind to handle. It could also be a sign that the stress you’re under has caused you to become burnt out, meaning that your mental and emotional capacities are at their limit, in desperate need of a reprieve.
If you think stress may be the culprit of your random crying, take a moment to assess your situation and identify the specific cause of your stress. This will help you become more aware of what’s plaguing you, and will help you address it or deal with it head on.
As pervasive as depression is, it can certainly cause you to cry at random times for no obvious reason. Depression often comes on slowly, and since there are so many reasons one can be depressed, you may be depressed without knowing it. Even the change of the seasons from summer to fall or fall to winter can cause seasonal affective disorder, also known as seasonal depression.
Depression can cause you to feel empty, hopeless, tired, and persistently sad. One of these alone or each of them together are enough to prompt anyone to cry at any given time. If you think you’re depressed, the best thing to do is to contact a mental health professional. They can help you learn to deal with these emotions, as well as give you possible solutions for how you’re feeling.
We all get fatigued from time to time, whether it’s due to lack of sleep, overworking, or any number of other reasons. Bodies need rest, and when they don’t get it in sufficient amounts, it can cause us to feel overly irritable, frustrated, angry, or sad—all of which can be tear-jerking emotions. The emotions fatigue can make us feel can seem irrational, and could certainly make it look or feel like you’re crying unnecessarily or for no reason.
Since anxiety can trigger feelings like a sense of impending doom or danger, or extreme amounts of worry or nervousness, it can absolutely be a source of frequent random crying.
Anxiety can come in the form of a disorder or an anxious disposition, but either way, if your anxiety is causing you to cry randomly often, it could be a sign that you may be struggling to cope with your anxiety symptoms by yourself and need some help.
Grief, of course, is a terrible, tragic feeling that’s very often the cause of tears. Though it can be an obvious reason for crying, feelings of loss can also cause crying when you don’t expect it.
Grief is a nonlinear process for nearly everyone, and as such, the sadness caused by it can strike at random. Some may not process the loss right away, causing the grief to feel delayed. Each person processes grief differently: For some, the shock is too intense to let the sadness in immediately, and for others, deflection or distraction is the best way they know how to deal. In either case, the grief may hit later and surprise them with random moments of crying and sadness.
It’s impossible to control or consistently predict when your loss will affect you. Environmental factors can also contribute to random crying due to loss, such as seeing, hearing, or smelling something that reminds you of the person you lost. Whatever the case, give yourself grace and remember that grief is unpredictable, and processing it is a daily struggle. Talking to a therapist or psychiatrist can also help you deal with your feelings, giving tools to use when your grief plagues you.
For people with uteruses, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common cause of or contributor to crying at random. Periods make you feel bloated, tired, and is a source of near-constant pain for some. At the same time, hormones like estrogen and progesterone can make your moods vary drastically.
That means that PMS can make small things have much bigger effects on your mood than they usually would, bringing about crying fits for little to no reason.
Though you may not have heard of it before, there is a condition that causes sudden instances of crying or laughing at inappropriate times. Pseudobulbar affect is usually caused by injuries or conditions within the neurological system, and has an affect on how the brain expresses and controls emotions.
Since the reaction is uncontrollable and may be happening at an inappropriate or unreasonable time, it may seem like you’re crying for no reason at all.
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:
Social and cultural factors may also influence how much people cry. A person who is part of a culture that is less accepting of crying and other forms of emotional expression may try to avoid crying to prevent shame or embarrassment.
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:
