How tears are produced and how they help us?
Human beings produce two kind of tears the ones produced by emotional crying and the others produced by irritation caused by different factors (external and internal). So, now I would like to tell you about the physical process to produce tears and what kind of benefit this action can bring you.
Physically, tears are composed of three layers: oil, water and mucous. So, before a tear come out of the eye there are three processes. First, the oily layer is produced by the meibomian glands, then the watery portion of the tear is produced by the lacrimal gland, and finally, the mucous layer comes from microscopic goblet cells in the conjunctiva. The tear layer travels from the punctum into the upper and lower canaliculus, which empty into lacrimal sac. The lacrimal sac drains into the nasal lacrimal duct which connects to the nasal passage. That is why our nose runs when we cry. All this process is called “crying”.
Tears produced by emotional crying are different from those caused by irritants. Recent researches have found that emotional tears contain more protein than tears induced by irritants. Some evidence show that tears produced by emotional crying may be a way that the body disposes of toxic substances. And that can be the reason why some people say that they feel better after cry. Nowadays, researches are examining the contents of emotional tears for substances such as endorphins, ACTH, prolactin and growth hormone, all of which are released by stress. Even though there is not a lot of information about the psychoactive substances in tears, some researchers believe that emotional tears may be important in the maintenance of physical health and emotional balance.
So, does crying help us to overcome emotional problems? Well, according to some psychologist and doctors crying is one of the best ways to release stress, fear, grief and other oppressive emotions. The doctor Barry M. Bernfeld said: “crying is natural, healthy and curative.” This expression can be supported by the hundred of experiences that psychologists have had with patients with several emotional traumas. For example, some patients who were victims of sexual abuse showed loss of stress when crying in their fist session. Jante Yassen, a social worker who leads groups for incest survivor, believes that there is a necessity of at least “1500 hours of crying” to get over the hurts of incest.
Now, we can accept a famous saying about tears in the past. Older people used to say that tears are blessed because they cleanse the windows of your soul and heart.