When You Need To Cry Your Eyes Out And Your Best Friends Are Waiting With A Kleenex
Looking to improve your relationship with your friends? Some may say spend more time together. But what should you really do?
Well, a new study has very different solution: cry it out with one another!
Because, I mean, there’s very little that’s as therapeutic as a good cry sesh, right? A study published in Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology collected data from 2,181 men and 2,915 women living in 35 various countries. They found that many had a common experience: crying with someone made them more cathartic!
“If friends are crying about a shared experience and are mutually supporting each other, it can be beneficial. But, if both are experiencing distress, their ability to support the other person may be more limited. Though seeing another person cry can also help one feel one’s own emotions are a valid and reasonable response,” explains the lead author of the study, Lauren M. Bylsma to Elite Daily.
Tears aren’t just a sign that a person is distressed but it can also mean they’re comfortable around you as a person, too.
“Crying shows vulnerability and people are much more comfortable crying in front of close friends rather than others or alone. If people do cry in front of strangers they tend to experience more negative feelings, such as embarrassment,” continues Bylsma.
Although science reveals that there’s many benefits to crying on someone’s shoulder, there’s still an unfortunate stigma when people do so. Many people still believe boys don’t cry and girls who do are babies or drama queens. However, researchers say we need change this way of thinking!
“It is important to legitimize emotional tears in relationships. Too often, women who cry feel ashamed, silly or weak when in reality they’re simply connected with their feelings,” Dr. Oren Hasson tells Elite Daily.
Moral of the story: Cry it out, b*tches.
So next girl’s night in order that pizza and put on that sappy movie. Bring on the tears, ladies.