Crying - Healing

I rarely read media but while overnighting in Capitola, California en route to my vacation rental in Bodega Bay just a bit over two weeks ago (more to come about that), I picked up the Santa Cruz area weekly alternative newspaper.  Reading an excellent piece about food and feeling in its pages, I serendipitously discovered Andrea Wachter, MFT, a wise, authentic, kindred spirit (www.innersolutions.net). Reading more of her wonderful essays as I the explored links to her writings on her rich-with-resources website, I came across this fascinating bit of information that I just had to pass along.

“It is healing and natural to express our feelings. In fact, crying has proven health benefits. Scientists have examined and compared the tears that are produced by onions with the tears that are produced by emotions. While the tears caused by onions were made of 98 percent water, the tears that were caused by emotions contained actual toxins. So crying is actually one way the body has of healing itself. When you allow yourself to cry, you are releasing and relieving yourself of toxins! Crying also helps to remove chemicals and hormones that are stored in our body from stress. That’s why people will sometimes say they feel relieved after letting themselves cry.”                                                                                                   -  Andrea Wachter, MFT