You’ve had a bad and highly teary few days, and now you’re wondering if you can die from crying too much. The inclination to weep easily is a more widespread issue than you might expect. Thousands of people have accepted that their emotional response to an issue is excessive at times.
But you cannot die from crying too much. However, it can have an unfavorable effect on your health as a whole. You might face anxiety, shortness of breath, and a prolonged headache. Excessive crying can also affect your mood. To analyze why you are crying too much, it is incredibly vital that you determine what causes you to feel unhappy.
While crying is a natural emotional response, crying too much can have a few side effects on your mental and physical health. This article will focus upon the reasons that can make you sad and their impact on your health.
Can You Die From Crying Too Much?
Crying is a pretty natural response to a strong emotion. This can occur while watching a sad movie, going through a breakup, or when you experience loss. While scientists believe crying is good for your health and eyes, excessive crying can be harmful.
No one has ever died from excessive crying. However, if you cry continuously for days without water, you might dehydrate your body and die. This is a very rare scenario and is unlikely to happen.
What Can Make You Cry Too Much?
Certain people are simply emotional and my feel the need to cry often, and there absolutely no shame in that. But, if you think you are crying too much, you need to analyze what’s making you sad and emotional.
There are different reasons for excessive crying. And you need to figure out the reason for your frequent sobbing so that you can seek help accordingly.
- Mourning
Excessive crying is understandable when an event has made you sad. It can be over a breakup, losing a job, conflict, stress, or losing a loved one. In such situations, crying your heart out can be beneficial to you. It helps relieve stress and deal with your emotions.
Crying is a normal response whenever you are sad or stressed out. People might cry several times a day for years when they lose someone close to them. However, the frequency and severity of crying will diminish over time.
Mourning is necessary to deal with how you feel. You need to be honest with yourself and take time off from your responsibilities while mourning. It can occur for days, weeks, or months and is entirely natural.
- Depression
Depression is a medical condition that usually requires assistance from a medical professional to treat. When people cannot handle their emotions, it goes beyond normal sadness or mourning and can affect your day-to-day tasks.
When you frequently feel sad and weepy, you might be suffering from something severe. If you think you are slipping into depression, you need to seek help to manage your problems better. You can contact your family or a mental health helpline number in your area.
- Pseudobulbar Affect
The pseudobulbar affect is a medical condition that damages your nervous system. People suffering from this condition might feel extraordinarily emotional and face frequent mood swings.
If you suffer from pseudobulbar affect, you might have trouble regulating your emotional expressions. In other words, there may be instances when you’ll either be crying or laughing excessively.
When you are not sad, excessive crying can be a symptom of this nervous condition. So, if you cannot locate a reason for sudden crying, you should see your doctor immediately. A neurological doctor can help you better manage your situation.
Why is Excessive Crying Bad for Your Health?
Some believe that crying is suitable for handling your emotions and relieving stress. This is true to a point. Excessive crying can negatively affect your health and cause medical complications.
Here are a few reasons why crying too much can have an adverse effect on your health.
- Crying too much can result in acute shortness of breath.
- Excessive crying can lead to mild or severe headaches.
- For people suffering from severe heart conditions, crying too much can cause cardiac pain.
- Excessive crying can lead to fits.
- Crying uncontrollably without drinking enough water can cause dehydration.
- If you are suffering from medical conditions, crying too much can wear heavily on you physically and emotionally.
Why Does Your Head Hurt After Crying?
When you are sad or stressed out, your body releases cortisol stress hormones. These hormones set off your brain’s chemical messengers that trigger multiple physical reactions. They include tears rolling down your eyes or tension in your forehead.
Most people face tension-type headaches from crying. These make your entire head hurt but do not lead to sensitivity or nausea. The actual tension in your body causes this discomfort.
When you start crying, you tighten up your forehead, the neck, and the back of your head. When you are experiencing a long, hard cry, it will prolong the tension in your muscles. This gives you a big, awful head throb.
Excessive crying can also affect your sinuses. The tear ducts drain into your sinus passages, building up the congestion. This, in turn, makes you feel a slight heaviness on your forehead and cheeks. It can lead to a sinus headache as well.
If you suffer from migraine, you have an overly sensitive brain that does not do well with change. In this instance, crying too much can trigger migraine headaches as well.
Seek Help
While crying is normal and healthy at times, excessive crying can harm your mental and physical health. If you’re mourning the loss of someone close to you, a breakup, or a job loss, you have all the right to be sad and cry. Just be weary of falling too deep into the pit. And if you do, don’t be embarrassed to seek help.
You can contact your family and tell them what you are facing. Or you can reach out and ask a an expert for help. There are tons of non-profit organizations working day in and out to help people deal with their mental health.
