How often do you cry? Daily, weekly, once in awhile?
One of the side effects I experienced while on Prozac was loosing the ability/desire to cry. The medication made me pretty numb. It took a very long time for me to figure out this was a result of the medication. So when I tapered off the anti-depressant, I began to feel again which led to crying.
Our society too often says we should not cry–especially in public. How often do you apologize for getting emotional, for tears that are on the surface…? Perhaps you are in the position I was in with medication and it has been months or years since you had a good cry.
Judith Orloff, M.D., of Psychology Today says, “Try to let go of outmoded, untrue, conceptions about crying. It is good to cry. It is healthy to cry. This helps to emotionally clear sadness and stress. Crying is also essential to resolve grief, when waves of tears periodically come over us after we experience a loss. Tears help us process the loss so we can keep living with open hearts. Otherwise, we are a setup for depression if we suppress these potent feelings. When a friend apologized for curling up in the fetal position on my floor, weeping, depressed over a failing romance, I told her, “Your tears blessed my floor. There is nothing to apologize for.”
My invitation today is to allow yourself to have a good cry. Begin in a quiet, secluded spot if you want. Allow the emotion to come and then feel it. If you don’t feel like crying or it just does not come easily, be patient. And when the urge DOES come, ALLOW it! Cry and cry some more. Unlocking the blocks inside of you through tears is critical to healing. I have seen it personally time and time again.
Cry…It matters!!
