Laughter therapy is familiar to us all as a means to reduce stress and anxiety of day to day life. Crying, on the other hand, has been looked upon as a sign of weakness. Shedding tears in public has been frowned upon. This has changed. Now, crying is considered good for health “therapeutic” and is being used as a therapy to reduce stress.

Chronic stress has a negative effect on health and well-being.

There are “crying clubs” where people collect and cry to release their emotions and alleviate their stress.

The "crying clubs" in Japan, which started in the year 2013, are called rui-katsu, which means "tear-seeking", where people collect to cry in public to release their stress.

The first crying club in India was started in Surat, Gujarat in 2017 (Ahmedabad Mirror).

Three types of tears are produced by the body: Reflex, continuous and emotional. Reflex tears are produced in reaction to irritants and help clear them away, while continuous tears lubricate the eyes. It is the third type of tears - emotional tears, which come into play in stressful conditions.

Emotional tears contain stress hormones (cortisol), which is released when the body is under stress. These hormones are removed from the body by the act of crying.

Tears also contain leucine enkephalin, an endorphin. Crying stimulates the formation of these endorphins as well, the “feel good” hormones that modulates pain. Crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system and restores the body balance.

As Experimental psychologist Alex Goetz said, “Tears serve an important purpose. Emotional tears, shed in moments of intense feeling, carry stress hormones and are a way of getting rid of them. Even if crying embarrasses you, it signals that youve reached a level of stress thats detrimental to your health.” (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stress-relief-why-crying_b_629309)

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee

President Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania   (CMAAO)

Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications

President Heart Care Foundation of India

Past National President IMA