Sometimes You Need a Good Cry, but Why?

Over the weekend, my husband and I put our little guy to bed and snuggled up on the couch to watch the Tina Fey/Amy Pohler movie, "Sisters."

While a bit crude at times, the movie has some incredibly hilarious parts and one scene made me laugh so hard that my stomach started to hurt. And then it happened. I went from laughing hysterically to crying really hard. I had no idea why. My little guy is a year and a half, so I can't blame it on hormones anymore.

Do you ever wake up and feel like you need to cry, but don't know why? Do you ever start laughing at something and end up crying? I was really curious why a switch was flipped inside of me and I went from extreme happiness to extreme sadness, so I decided to do a little research. What I found on WebMD was pretty interesting.

Stephen Sideroff is an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and explains that crying is, "...a release. There is a buildup of energy with feelings." He also says, "Crying is a natural emotional response to certain feelings, usually sadness and hurt. But then people [also] cry under other circumstances and occasions."

Jodi DeLuca, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist at Tampa General Hospital in Florida, dove even further and said ''When you cry, it's a signal you need to address something."

When I got done with my good cry, I found myself thinking really hard about what might have made me so incredibly sad in the middle of something so funny and suddenly, the answer was clear.

In the movie we were watching, the parents sold their home, the one the sisters grew up in. Earlier that day, I'd grabbed a flier for a house that my husband and I have been eyeing for the last two years. Even though the sale price has been dropped by $50,000, we still can't afford the house, and especially not the almost $10,000 a year in taxes. I'd been sad earlier in the day thinking about how much we want that particular home and how much we want to own our own place- an actual home of our own rather than renting a home. And it makes sense that watching the movie about a family who had what we want- their own home filled with memories- coupled with looking at the flier  would make me cry. It wasn't a random, hormonal cry- it was all tied together.

So, then next time you feel like you have a heavy heart and need a good cry, or you just erupt into tears, remember that it means there's a buildup of energy inside you that needs to get out, and there's something going on in your life that you might need to take a hard look at. And then cry it out. I promise that you'll feel better.

[via WebMD]