We live in a culture that often tells us to hold it together. To be strong. To push through. But what if letting go was one of the most powerful things you could do for your health?

Science says it is. A growing body of research supports what many of us have felt instinctively: A good cry can be profoundly healing. For those of us in health care, understanding the physiology behind emotional tears may just change the way we counsel our patients and ourselves.

Before we dive into the benefits of crying, it helps to remember that tears come in 3 distinct types: basal tears (which we spend all day discussing with patients), reflex tears (which flush out irritants like smoke or dust), and emotional tears (that promote systemic healing).

Emotional tears contain a notably different chemical composition than other tears. They carry higher concentrations of stress hormones—including cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone—as well as proteins and manganese. In other words, when you cry in response to sadness, frustration, or overwhelm, your body is literally flushing stress-related compounds out of your system.

Ever noticed that you feel calmer after a crying spell, even if nothing about your situation has changed? There’s a biological reason for that. Research shows that crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which triggers the body’s built-in calming response. The PNS is the antidote to the freeze, fight, or flight stress state so many of us inhabit far too often.

Additionally, emotional tears stimulate the release of oxytocin and endorphins—the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators. These “feel-good” chemicals ease both emotional and physical pain, which is why a good cry often leaves us feeling lighter, more grounded, and even sleepy in the best way.

A 2019 study published in the journal Emotion found that participants who cried in response to a stressful event were better able to tolerate subsequent stress, showed lower cortisol levels, and returned to emotional baseline faster than those who did not cry.¹

Crying also serves as a powerful emotional reset. Research suggests that crying helps restore emotional equilibrium when we experience intense feelings such as sadness, joy, fear, or relief. It is the body’s way of processing what is too big to simply think through.

For stressed professionals, including those of us in eye care who carry the emotional weight of our patients’ lives alongside our own, this matters enormously. Suppressing tears doesn’t make the emotion go away; it simply delays the processing. Studies suggest that people with stress-induced illness tend to cry less than their healthier counterparts and are more likely to view crying as weakness. The irony is striking: The very thing that could help restore balance is the thing we deny ourselves.

Crying is also, at its core, a social act. Research describes it as an “attachment behavior”—a signal that rallies support from those around us. From our very first breath, crying has been our primary tool for communicating need and receiving comfort. That impulse does not disappear in adulthood; it simply becomes layered with self-consciousness and societal expectation. When we allow ourselves to cry in the presence of trusted others, we deepen bonds, invite empathy, and create space for genuine human connection. If you are in a season of stress, grief, or uncertainty, give yourself permission to cry. Not as a sign of defeat but as an act of self-care that is grounded in solid science. Your tears contain the very stress hormones your body is working to eliminate. If you are the friend of someone who is in need of a medicinal cry, support them. A good friend listens, practices empathy, and encourages healthy behavior. We don’t need to fix it; we simply need to be there.

Finally, as health care providers, we are often the last to tend to ourselves. But the research is clear: Honoring our emotional responses, including tears, is not a detour from strength. It is the path to it.OM

Reference

1. Sharman LS, Dingle GA, Vingerhoets AJJM, Vanman EJ. Using crying to cope: physiological responses to stress following tears of sadness. Emotion. 2020;20(7):1279-1291.doi: 10.1037/emo0000633

Email: dr@apriljasper.com
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April Jasper, OD, FAAO practices in West Palm Beach, Florida. She is an American Academy of Optometry fellow, chief optometric editor of Optometric Management, and author of "Creating Your Business of Distinction," which can be purchased here: amzn.to/3LM8JmR.