It has been established that the act of crying offers many therapeutic benefits to the human system. Psychologists and experts in mental health believe that the outpouring of bottled-up emotions does the body so much good and prevents the human mind from the ignoble descent into self-destruction.
It is better to empty ourselves of emotions, whether joyful or sorrowful, through teary downpours than to leave them trapped in our minds and allow them to dissipate through other inglorious ways. For example, the tears of joy shed by a victorious athlete help him to react positively to the unexpected success and thereby balances his emotional architecture with a reminder that the attained glory is not entirely a product of his own making but more of either the intervention of divinity, luck or chance. Philosophically speaking such a scenario helps him to remain humble and sober in the face of life’s unending paradoxes.
On the other hand, for the one who is faced with defeat or who finds himself swimming against the melancholic tides of human existence, the act of crying rids him of the negative burden of bottled-up emotions. By letting those tears out, he purges himself of all the bad feelings that accompany his inability to surmount the challenge at that point in time. The foregoing therefore admonishes us all to react to the vicissitudes of life with temperance and modesty.
It is very significant for Nigerians, at this point of our socio-economic experience, to imbibe some psychological principles that can help us remain positive-minded, irrespective of the unsavory and heart-breaking developments that have continued to create tensions and unease in our national life. To be honest, the level of hunger and inflation in the country has not augured well for most families. The skyrocketing prices of goods and services, especially food and basic necessities, is not the best of developments. Everywhere you go, you will encounter persons either begging for help or asking for food to eat.
While we understand that the times are hard and that we cannot avoid these sad experiences as a nation, we must summon the courage to face the current realities head-on. One of the ways to free ourselves from the shackles of the prevailing circumstances is to reflect on life philosophically and cry out our pains privately.
The act of crying is, in itself, not a sign of weakness but one of strength, knowing that when we refuse to do so, we may bottle up emotions that have the tendency to break us down mentally. There is courage in crying when we shed our pains away and move on in life with a positive mindset. After all, as long as we are alive, whatever we have lost can come back to us in a hundred fold.
Fellow Nigerians, please “Cry The Beloved Country” and remain positive that brighter days are coming. The more you cry in your privacy, the more you realise that your success or failure depends not entirely on your own making but on some other extraneous factors such as the God-factor. The more you shed those tears of success or failure, the more you become emotionally mature and intelligent, knowing that the humility in victory and the pride in failure are essential ingredients in the journey of life.
For those who are financially down and are unable to manage the pain of insolvency, rather than drink yourself to stupor or engage in unnecessary outbursts with mockers, retire to your closet and cry away your pains while reminding yourself that life is full of ups and downs. You will eventually be better off, as you would have mastered the art of managing the tragic encounters of this life.
What crying does to your mental health cannot be quantified. Here are some of those things you can achieve when you cry anytime life throws wicked punches at you:
Crying helps your body to rest and digest.
Crying detoxifies your body.
Crying dulls pain by releasing oxytocin and endorphins.
Crying improves your mood by regulating your brain’s temperature.
Crying rallies physical support by attracting the intervention of people around you
Crying helps you to overcome grief, even if it involves the loss of a loved one.
Crying restores our yemotional balance. Researchers at Yale University believe that crying helps to achieve emotional equilibrium
Crying helps your baby to sleep. Remember, when you are stressed and your baby tries to worsen the situation, by crying profusely, it falls to sleep and helps you overcome your emotional worries.
In our journey through life, we must put aside the togas of ego and arrogance. When necessary, let us let those teary drops out. It has nothing to do with gender, tribe or race. Crying is the bravest act for those who wish to truly conquer their fears in life. Even Jesus wept!
