Tears are just one of many miracles which work so well that we have taken for granted . Here, then, are six ways tears and the phenomenon we call “crying” heal us physiologically, psychologically, and spiritually.

 

1. Tears help us see.

        Starting with the most basic function of tears, they enable us to see. Literally. Tears not only lubricate our eyeballs and eyelids, they also prevent dehydration of our various mucous membranes. No lubrication, no eyesight.  “Without tears, life would be drastically different for humans — in the short run enormously uncomfortable, and in the long run eyesight would be blocked out altogether.”

 

2. Tears kill bacteria.

       Tears our own antibacterial and antiviral agent working for us, fighting off all the germs we pick up on community computers, shopping carts, public sinks, and all those places the nasty little guys make their homes and procreate. Tears contain lysozyme, a fluid that can kill 90 to 95 percent of all bacteria in just five to 10 minutes! Which translates, , to three months’ worth of colds and stomach viruses.

 

3. Tears remove toxins.

       Emotional tears–those formed in distress or grief–contained more toxic by-products than tears of irritation (think onion peeling). Are tears toxic then? No! They actually remove toxins from our body that build up courtesy of stress. They are like a natural therapy or massage session, but they cost a lot less!

 

4. Crying can elevate mood.

       Do you know what your manganese level is? No, neither do I. But chances are that you will feel better if it’s lower because overexposure to manganese can cause bad stuff: anxiety, nervousness, irritability, fatigue, aggression, emotional disturbance and the rest of the feelings that live inside my happy head rent-free. The act of crying can lower a person’s manganese level

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5. Crying lowers stress.

       Tears really are like perspiration in that exercising and crying both relieve stress. For real.  tears remove some of the chemicals built up in the body from stress, like the endorphin leucine-enkaphalin and prolactin. The opposite is true too.Suppressing tears increases stress levels, and contributes to diseases aggravated by stress, such as high blood pressure, heart problems, and peptic ulcers.

 

6. Tears release feelings.

       Even if you haven’t just been through something traumatic or are severely depressed, the average Jo goes through his day accumulating conflicts and resentments. Sometimes they gather inside the limbic system of the brain and in certain corners of the heart. Crying is cathartic. It lets the devils out. Before they wreak all kind of havoc with the nervous and cardiovascular systems,all these feelings need to be felt. We need to stomp and storm; to sob and cry; to perspire and tremble.