Are you an adult who cries too much?
Are you an adult who cries excessively?
Just how abnormal is it for an adult to be prone to excessive crying episodes?
There are different kinds of crying, and different reasons for such, in the adult.
Many times, the crying is a normal reaction to an agonizing event.
Sometimes an adult will cry out of happiness.
I’ve witnessed adults crying after winning something on “The Price Is Right.”
The issue, however, is when the adult cries too often, excessively, out of proportion to life circumstances.
I once read a letter to an advice columnist from a woman who said she cried over everything, including the opening of a new K-Mart.
Why are some adults prone to so much tearfulness?
“Most likely the crying is related to a heightened emotional state which is caused by some stress in the person’s life,” explains Peter Swanljung, MD, chief of psychiatry at the Malvern Institute in Willow Grove, PA.
Someone may cry when the K-Mart opens, but they are not really crying about the K-Mart opening; rather, they are releasing emotions related to other issues going on in their lives.”
Some people begin weeping and sniffling while watching sappy movies or TV shows like “Little House on the Prairie.”
When I was in college, a group of us were in the TV lounge watching the 1939 version of “The Wizard of Oz.”
While Judy Garland was singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” one of the female students began quietly weeping.
I don’t recall if I heard her sniffling, but I clearly recall another girl commenting in a sort of teasing way, “She’s crying!”
The weeping girl loved rainbows and had them all over her room.
Some adults will easily weep over very trite but isolated, specific events such as someone singing; whereas other adults will literally cry “over everything.”
Frequent crying episodes are not uncommon in someone with clinical depression, but this article refers to “otherwise normal” adults who just get too emotional.
Sometimes the tears are in reaction to a pleasant event (or seemingly a reaction to), such as the K-Mart opening or Judy Garland singing.
And sometimes the tears result from something negative, such as being chastised by one’s boss.
How many times have we heard of women running to the bathroom and crying after being chewed out by their boss?
Dr. Swanljung explains, “Meeting with a therapist may help a person understand what issues or stressors may be causing this heightened emotional state, and they may then be able to work on resolving or coping with these issues.”
If excessive crying in your adult life is interfering with social interactions or makes you uncomfortable, consider seeking professional help to discover the underlying cause.
Don’t assume this is something that’s just a part of you that can’t be remedied.
