Crying Spells: Underlying Causes (2024)

Crying is a universal experience. People can get teary for almost any reason and at any time. There’s a lot we still don’t know about crying but some scientists believe emotional tears — versus the everyday tears that protect your eyes — are also beneficial for your health.

Sometimes you might find yourself crying a lot more often than you’d like to or without an apparent cause.

There’s no official standard for a healthy amount of crying because everyone is different. It’s helpful to pay attention to your crying habits and how you feel about it.

Sometimes you may not know why you’re crying or why you can’t stop crying. Other times, you might not realize how upset you are until you step back and notice how much you’ve been crying lately.

Where you measure up in terms of average amount of crying may not be as important as noticing increases in your personal pattern of crying.

Uncontrollable crying may feel like tears well up too easily or they’re hard to soothe and stop.

Read on to learn about possible causes of uncontrollable crying as well as how to take care of yourself and seek help.

There’s still a lot that we don’t know about crying, who cries more, and why. Even large studies on crying and its effects rely on people to self-report, which makes results less consistent.

Crying is a tool to communicate an emotional response. It shows people around you that you’re feeling something. You may cry more or less, depending on how sensitive you are to stimuli and how comfortable you feel openly showing your emotions.

Many scientists have worked to find out if “a good cry” that leaves you feeling refreshed is actually possible. Overall, the research is split. It may also depend a lot on how supportive your environment is to showing emotion.

A large study of men and women from around the world found that people report crying one to 10 times per month. In the United States, women reported crying 3.5 times and men reported crying 1.9 times.

This is higher than the global averages, which were 2.7 times for women and 1 time for men. These are just averages and other studies have found different results.

Hormones

Since women commonly report crying more than men, it’s a solid theory that hormones affect crying differences among people. Testosterone, a hormone higher in men, may prohibit crying, while prolactin, which is higher in women, may promote crying.

Hormones dictate much of how your body functions and their levels can cause a wide array of symptoms. If anything has been affecting your hormones, such as sleep, stress, or medications, it can likely affect how much you cry.

Crying in pregnancy

Being pregnant is a lot of work and crying more is a common occurrence. Both happy and sad feelings can trigger a lot of tears if you’re pregnant.

Reasons you might have uncontrollable crying in pregnancy are:

  • major hormonal changes in your body
  • exhaustion from physical changes in your body
  • feeling overwhelmed with all of the preparations to have a baby
  • increased occurrence of depression

Crying spells with anxiety and stress

Stress is a normal reaction to some of life’s everyday events. Stress makes your body and mind alert to what’s going on. However, constant stress can be the sign of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety can prevent you from doing the things you want to do and living life as you desire.

A 2016 study looked at crying tendencies in adults and how it related to their sense of attachment, safety, and connection to others. People with anxiety were more likely to say that crying feels helpful but uncontrollable. If you have anxiety, you might cry often or uncontrollably.

Other signs of anxiety include:

  • racing thoughts
  • excess fear and worry
  • sweaty palms and increased heart rate
  • panic
  • trouble sleeping
  • tense muscles
  • being easily distracted
  • digestion issues

Exhaustion

A lot of people report being quicker to cry when they’re really tired. If you’ve been crying a lot more lately and you know you’re not getting enough sleep, you should get more rest. It can take a long time to come back from sleep deficit.

Adults need seven to nine hours of sleep every night. Sleeping at unusual times also doesn’t help because your natural hormones make your brain tired and need sleep over the course of the night.

Anxiety and stress can make you more tired, so these might go together for you. But it’s certainly possible to be exhausted without having an underlying mental health condition.

To start making up for your loss of sleep, cancel your weekend plans and sleep in at least three hours. Then, go to bed an hour or two early every night for the rest of the week. If it’s hard to change this habit, make it a point to be in bed and reading something calm with your phone and email turned off. Shutting down like this can help you settle in and you might fall asleep easier.

Depression crying spells

Depression is a medical condition that often looks like sadness, exhaustion, or anger. It looks different in everyone. While it’s normal to be sad sometimes, people with depression have an unexplained heaviness for two weeks or more.

Depression is a mental health condition with many potential treatments. Unexplained crying can be a sign of depression.

Other symptoms include:

  • significant change in eating and sleeping patterns and weight
  • anxiety
  • irritability
  • pessimism or apathy
  • exhaustion or lethargy
  • feelings of guilt
  • inability to focus
  • lack of desire for social engagement
  • loss of interest in things you used to enjoy
  • recurring thoughts of death or suicide

Depression can look vastly different from person to person. It can happen to anyone, though it’s more common in women and usually occurs between ages 25 to 44.

Working with a doctor can help you figure out what you’re experiencing and how to treat it. In about 80 percent of all cases of depression, people who seek treatment will see significant improvement of their symptoms.

Bipolar crying spells

Bipolar disorder is a common cause of uncontrollable crying. Also called manic-depression, bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme changes in mood from high to low feelings. It affects more than 2 million adults in the United States.

The depressive states of bipolar disorder can look like depression, but it’s otherwise a very different condition. People with bipolar disorder will also experience times of manic excitement and energy.

Other symptoms include:

  • extreme and unpredictable mood swings
  • irritability
  • impulsiveness
  • racing speech and thoughts
  • need for less sleep without getting fatigue
  • delusions of grandeur
  • hallucinations

Bipolar disorder can occur in anyone of any age and ethnicity, and it’s commonly passed down in families. A doctor can offer many options to treat it.

Pseudobulbar affect

Uncontrollable crying can be caused by pseudobulbar affect, also called emotional lability. There have been reports of this uncontrollable laughing or crying since the 19th century.

Pseudobulbar affect is marked by laughing or crying that seems inappropriate to the environment or stimuli. It’s believed to be caused by damage to the brain, though more research is needed to fully understand this condition.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently approved one of the first forms of treatment for pseudobulbar affect. If you have uncontrollable crying at unexpected times and no other symptoms, speak with a doctor.

You shouldn’t feel pressure to stop yourself from crying unless you personally decide you want to. While crying can be very helpful in relieving stress, that’s not always the case. Depending on each situation, you can decide if you’d rather cry and move on, or avoid it completely.

However, if you find yourself constantly trying to avoid crying, there may be more going on in your health that needs attention.

Research shows that culture and social norms can affect your experience of crying. If you’re crying, it may be best to have a supportive friend with you and to let yourself cry without shame or embarrassment. In these cases, you’re a lot more likely to feel better after crying.

“Happy tears” resulting from positive situations may also leave you feeling better than shedding sad tears prompted by something negative.

Of course, there are some times when you really don’t want to cry. In those cases, try these tips:

  • Slow your breath.
  • Loosen your facial muscles and throat where you can get that lump.
  • Try smiling. People report this physical change affects their emotions or distracts the body and prevents tears.
  • Push your tongue into the roof of your mouth.
  • Drink water.
  • Think of something mundane like a poem or recipe you know by heart to distract yourself.
  • Look at something soothing.

People with mental health issues may feel a variety of hurdles — physical, emotional, and social — in getting help. However, many report improvement after treatment. It’s very important that you get help for your safety and quality of life.

Here are some resources if you need help:

  • Call 911 or go to an emergency room if there’s immediate danger.
  • Crisis Text Line is available 24 hours every day to text with trained crisis counselors: Text HOME to 741741.
  • The National Suicide Prevention hotline is available 24 hours every day at 800-273-8255.
  • Search online for local crisis centers that may be able to provide long-term support.
  • Confide in a trusted friend and ask them to help you get treatment.

Some people cry more easily or can’t stop crying once they’ve started. Crying is totally normal but you may want to cry less often or your crying might be due to a health condition.

If you’ve suddenly started crying more, talk to a doctor. There could be a medical cause and treatment can help.

Crying Spells: Underlying Causes (2024)

FAQs

What causes crying spells? ›

Summary. Although you may feel as if you are crying for "no reason," most episodes of uncontrollable emotion have some sort of underlying cause. You may be experiencing depression, anxiety, or another mental health condition such as bipolar disorder. Hormones and neurological disease are also possible culprits.

What is the diagnosis for crying spells? ›

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) has been reported with strokes and other neurological conditions, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, brain tumors, and Alzheimer's dementia. It presents as a frequent involuntary and uncontrollable outburst of crying or laughing.

What is the crying spell disorder? ›

Pseudobulbar affect is characterized by frequent, involuntary, and often inappropriate laughter or crying spells that are difficult to control and stop. Sometimes, pseudobulbar affect is mistaken for depression since the two conditions have similar symptoms, such as crying spells.

What does spells of crying mean? ›

Crying spells or episodes are a common symptom of depression. They are periods when an individual finds themselves crying uncontrollably, often without a discernible reason. Depression crying spells can strike at any time, creating a sense of unpredictability and fear.

What hormone causes crying spells? ›

Testosterone, a hormone higher in men, may prohibit crying, while prolactin, which is higher in women, may promote crying. Hormones dictate much of how your body functions and their levels can cause a wide array of symptoms.

Are crying spells normal? ›

Everyone cries now and again, and a person may cry more on a given day for no clear reason. If crying becomes more frequent or uncontrollable and there is no apparent cause, consider consulting a medical professional. A mental health condition, hormonal imbalance, or neurological condition may be responsible.

How to control crying spells? ›

Taking a deep breath and focusing on breathing slowly and calmly can help regain control. Moving the eyes around and blinking back the tears can prevent them from spilling out. When a person cries their face tends to tense up. Focusing on the muscles in the face and relaxing them can help prevent crying.

What is neurogenic crying? ›

What is Neuro-crying? Crying and agitation for no apparent reason in children with severe neurologic impairment is a common and frustrating problem for care providers and parents.

What is paroxysmal crying? ›

Colic is commonly described as a behavioral syndrome characterized by excessive, paroxysmal crying. Colic is most likely to occur in the evenings, and it occurs without any identifiable cause. During episodes of colic, an otherwise healthy neonate or infant aged 2 weeks to 4 months is difficult to console.

Are crying spells anxiety attacks? ›

Yes, crying can be a symptom of an anxiety attack. Anxiety attacks can be emotionally exhausting, and for some, tears can be a release of pent-up tension and stress. Crying can be seen as an emotional response to feeling overwhelmed or a way the body communicates it needs support and understanding.

What medication is used to stop emotional crying? ›

Dextromethorphan and quinidine combine to treat uncontrollable and frequent episodes of laughing and/or crying caused by pseudobulbar affect. This medication comes in a capsule form. You take it by mouth with a glass of water as directed. If it upsets your stomach, take it with food.

Is it normal to cry for 2 hours straight? ›

Severe grief or disruption can cause anyone to cry, and that's normal. Prolonged crying that persists without reason is not normal and may indicate a serious condition requiring treatment. Dr. Kirtly Parker Jones talks about tears, crying, and emotions that are uniquely human.

What is cyanotic spells on crying? ›

The cyanotic spell is often a response to frustration, anger, fear, or pain. It usually occurs when the child is crying and becomes unable to draw a breath. Their skin turns bluish, especially around the lips, and they faint. They regain consciousness within a minute.

What are the 3 types of crying? ›

We cry to protect our eyes, to wash out irritants and because, well, we are moved to tears. “There are three types of tears: basal tears, emotional tears and reflex tears,” explains David Silverstone, M.D., a professor of ophthalmology at the Yale School of Medicine.

Is crying a symptom of something? ›

There are a lot of reasons, besides having an immediate emotional response, why you may cry more than normal. Tearfulness is frequently associated with depression and anxiety. People often experience the two conditions at the same time. Certain neurological conditions can also make you cry or laugh uncontrollably.

What are the five signs of emotional suffering? ›

The Five Signs encouraged people to ask if they or their loved ones were not feeling themselves, feeling withdrawn, feeling agitated, feeling hopeless or not caring for themselves. A longtime mental health advocate, Broderick discovered the program and introduced it to New Hampshire.

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