Or bascially what purpose do tears serve besides lubricating the eyes. Why do we need to cry when emotional? what purpose does flowing of slat water from our eyes serve to us during these escalated times on emotional stress and joy?
Like asking why do we laugh or why do dogs wag their tails. As social animals we need ways of displaying our emotional states to one another, all these weird systems come up such as eyebrow angles, smiling, frowning, crying being just another.
Losing, what maybe precious water in hard times, seem like a very uneconomical funtion to me. Crying in a very arid land due to hardships would be wasting badly needed water.
sargentlard: Yes, but most people can fairly well control tears due to grief. I mean, whenever I want to cry I just tell myself that I'm an emotional fucking pussy and I'll stop. I suspect most people can. Fetus: I think it's more than that. There is a whole series of reactions to crying - you eventually stop and you feel calmer, sleepier. I think it must also be a way of coping with strong emotions.
yes but why it exist like that is unknown, way do we cry why don't we bob are heads up and down when we are sad or clap are hands spontaneously, all of these could produce the same reaction and result if we evolved for them.
Yes, i suspected as such. I guess the brain realizes that a lot of mental stress has occupied and it is better to put the host at rest to avoid further mental damage. In extreme cases in such as great pain you are forcibly put out of commision by being rendered unconcious. Yes, thats what i wondered. Doesn't sound very healthy.
Well people cry when happy, surprised, anxious or sad. It may or may not be calming. I have watched babies cry, and sometimes there are no tears. Why? Animals feel pain and do not express it through tears. I have to side with Fetus and say that expression is the key here. Tears are are yet another way for humans to better express themselves. Same with laughter. Thus, the varying degrees of tears or laughs.
LOL, funny I think the same way when I get a tear. Maybe it's not healthy but I sometimes get a bit choked up watching very emotional movies. They're not always tragic, the tragic ones don't make me cry but the happy ones do. Wierd.
I think people cry for many reasons. Sometimes a form of communication and sometimes just to cope with stress. I know crying for me isn't simply my eyes leaking salty water. The body shudders, the sinus channels depressurize and leak, and also I have a weird feeling in my chest. It's painful in a different way. Crying is a very physical thing. So my answers are - communication - cartharsis
More of a man than I am Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Crying my bet (i have no expertise in this) would be an emotional trigger, something that goes along with being sentient is having remorse possibly? I can tell you, the day i went with my mother to her mother and fathers grave she cried, i never really knew them as well as her, but i cried too, probably because dear old mom was crying. I can still remember that day vividly
Crying doesn't waste as much precious fluid as marking territory or frothing at the mouth to intimidate rivals. But it is strange, I don't know what its purpose is. Maybe its purpose is to be a hinderence to the weaker willed individuals, ensuring the survival of those that can control themselves. If a group of people were running from a lion the person crying would be the one who gets caught because their vision would be blurred and they couldn't get away. Ever noticed how people who cry also happen to deserve to die? Something to think about. It could be an advanced version of the "take me" communication the springboks have with lions. Instead of simply running away, which would waste far less energy and get you away faster, the whole herd of springbok leap up and down when a predator comes for them. The predator goes for the member which jumps the lowest. You'd think the unhealthiest springbok would know and just sprint but no, he plays along, never breaking the rules no matter what. Perhaps they can't help jumping, just like some people can't help crying, it could be a natural reaction to being frightened. Crying could be an advanced self destruct system. Far stranger things have happened in nature, believe me. Or on the flipside it would be interesting to check if crying makes an attacking predator less likely to attack. You never know. Give me a grizzly bear and 100 individuals with varying emotional strength and I'll test my theoryPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Women and children in general tend to cry more often than men and, among the other predatory pack animals of africa, males in general are considered more disposable by natures laws. There could be a connection. AHA! I think I've got it. Keep in mind that back in the day during our development clans of our ancestors would attack other clans almost daily. I don't doubt the crying of the women and children assisted in making the attacking clan only kill the adult males, simply stealing their women and children. But that would be odd actually, there is no benefit in letting your rivals children survive, no animal does that. But we are odd I suppose, its instinctively difficult to kill a child, have you tried? Damn its tough, no other animal struggles to do that. We are so wierd...
I remember somewhere I read that crying can flush out many bad chemicals that brain released during emotional pain, and it's might be harmful to stop the tears when you should really cry.
Makes sense but negative chemicals are also released during everyday stress which become destructive over time and also at other occasions so why only flushed out during crying? Too much build up at one time.
Maybe it's our body's way of remaining in homeostasis like the way we shiver when we're cold and the way we sweat when we're hot. So... When we're full of all these emotions inside, tears are a way of relieving them like the way we sweat. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I don't know.
