Crying is something we all do — from chopping onions to emotional heartbreak. But did you know that not all tears are the same?
There are three main types:
Basal tears – keep your eyes moist
Reflex tears – protect from dust or smoke
Emotional tears – come with strong feelings
But here’s the fascinating part: Emotional tears have a different chemical makeup.
They contain more stress hormones (like cortisol) and natural painkillers (like endorphins). That’s why you often feel better after crying — it’s not just emotional relief, it’s also biochemical healing.
Scientists believe crying might be the body’s way of flushing out stress. Some researchers even say that analyzing tears could one day help diagnose mental health or hormonal issues.
I appreciate you sharing this; to be honest, I was unaware that emotional tears differed biologically. It’s rather remarkable that sobbing may serve as a true stress detox in addition to providing emotional comfort. It gives me a completely different perspective!
Very informative . Thank you for sharing such beautiful good information, Really i didn’t know types of tears .Our body releases its stress through tears.
How beautifully our body work sometimes its really beyond words.
Crying is not weakness , its a natural therapy .
Tears are not just water; they carry a mix of chemicals like enzymes, salts, and hormones. Emotional tears even contain stress-relieving substances, showing how our body uses chemistry to cope. Crying isn’t just a sign of emotion but also a biological process that helps cleanse and balance us both physically and mentally. It’s science and emotion combined.
I think the emotional tears mostly assist in lowering all those hormones that usually get built up inside the body because of high-end overwhelming emotions and the resultant pain. The mechanism of crying is all about releasing the pent-up emotions that generally impacts our body physiology. Crying also results in the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system that simultaneously generates calmness and provide relaxation, releasing the pressure/tightness from the body and also by lowering the heart rate. Mostly I feel, through the measurement of cortisol levels in the tears, we can assess the mental health concerns in the form of normal stress or anxiety. Some pivotal tear biomarkers have already been identified and through their detection depression and PTSD can be identified now. Additionally, tears can be subjected to robust analytical techniques for identification and quantification of certain proteins and hormones to diagnose the type of mental health issue or concern. More deeper research is needed ahead towards unraveling of most significant details here.
That’s really interesting! I never realized emotional tears were chemically different. It makes sense why crying can feel like a release your body is actually getting rid of stress and even producing pain relief.
While I am not fully versed in the scientific explanations behind crying, I have found that it helps me in managing my emotions. It seems that allowing oneself to cry can be a helpful way to alleviate emotional burdens.
Yes, it’s so interesting to know that our tears aren’t all the same! Emotional tears actually carry stress hormones and natural painkillers like cortisol and endorphins. That’s why crying can make us feel better — it’s not just emotional, it’s also a form of natural healing.
But here’s the fascinating part: Emotional tears have a different chemical makeup.
