Next time you get tears in your eyes—be happy about it!
Why, you might ask?
Because tears are an incredibly important signal that helps us regulate our physical, emotional and social selves. Allowing your tear ducts to flow benefits you in many ways:
Physically, tears help our bodies by:
- clearing chemicals that trigger damaging stress hormones—which can cause physical illness
- flushing toxins and killing bacteria
- keeping our eyes moist
Emotionally, tears help us:
- express emotions, heal, and end our own suffering
- acknowledge and accept our feelings and move forward in life
- allow our feelings to give us direction
Socially, tears send a powerful signal that:
- we care about someone or something
- showing our feelings connects us to others
- shedding tears also gives others permission to shed their own—what better gift is there than to allowing others to be their authentic self around us?
In fact, crying is courageous!
- Tears give us courage to face life’s strenuous developments
- Tears help us release suffering
- Tears let us be vulnerable to loved ones and build connection
So next time you feel tears in your eyes—remember: Tears are our secret power of strength and health. Let them flow!
Have questions about counseling? Call (206) 496-4330 or email maryam@rewa.org at ReWA’s Center for Social Emotional Wellbeing (formerly, Behavioral Health)