Feel Like Cryin'?...

I love to watch television comedy series. Home Improvements (HIM), My Wife And Kids (MYWIKS), 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughters (8SMS), to name a few are among my favourites. But why in the world did I cry yesterday when I watched HIM, MYWIKS and 8SMS, instead of laughing? It’s all because of those beautiful words they said to each other. For example like “I love you more now than the day I married you”, or “I don’t think I’ve apologise enough for the things I’ve said to you” (HIM), “You’re not only the man of this house, but you’re the man of my heart” (MYWIKS). It’s so sweet that it put tears in my eyes…

Yesterday, during my CHS class, we did some discussion about Normal Behaviour and Abnormal Behaviour. One of my lists about Normal Behaviour is its normal to feel sad and cry. I cried when my aunt (father’s youngest sister) and uncle (mother’s youngest brother) passed away, I cried when I won the first prize for my first radio drama script, I cried with my two Thailand friends when we watched Armageddon, back in 1998 in Singapore, I cried with my two Bruneian friends when we watched Babul, in Reading a few months ago. So, I guess there's no harm in crying... it's a universal feeling...

I’d like to share some information about crying written by Victor M. Parachin, which can be found on this site: http://www.cyquest.com/good_cry.html

Why do people often feel better after crying? Alan Wolfelt, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Colorado Medical School, works primarily with people who are mourning loved ones. "In my experience," he says, "I have observed changes in the physical expressions following the expression of tears. Not only do people feel better after crying, they also look better." And according to Dr. William Frey, a biochemist and director of the Dry Eye and Tear Research Centre in Minneapolis, Minn., one reason people might feel better after crying could be because they are "removing, in their tears, chemicals that build up during emotional stress." Frey’s research indicates that tears, along with other bodily secretions like perspiration, rid the body of various toxins and wastes.

Should tears be controlled? The simple answer is no. Very few people cry for the wrong reasons. Consider the man who rushed his daughter to a local hospital after she experienced a severe fall. Because tears were pouring down his cheeks, the emergency room doctor ordered the young father to stop crying. Clearly, the doctor was wrong. Most people would do well to cry more often, and scientists as well as therapists and doctors are beginning to concur.

Can we cry too often? There is, in fact, only one word of caution about crying. Says one psychotherapist, "People who cry easily should feel glad they’re in touch with their feelings. But if they’re crying a lot in response to criticism, they should try to get some counselling. This kind of crying is an alarm bell of a far deeper hurt; it could signify a loss of self-esteem that is triggered whenever anyone says anything negative."

So to all of you out there, cry as you feel like it. I’m pretty sure you know when to stop. Here’s a story I copied from my cousin blog (Thanks Hang Lucky!). A 4 year old child whose next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry." So sweet, isn’t it…