When is Crying Cathartic? An International Study

Abstract

The idea that crying is a cathartic experience, leading to relief from distress, has deep roots. however, empirical evidence for catharsis after crying is mixed. one explanation for the inconsistent results is that variations in the social context of the crying situation determine whether or not crying-related catharsis occurs. To evaluate the role of social context and other contextual features in crying-related catharsis, self-report data were collected on characteristics of the most recent crying episode and its effects on mood in 2,181 male and 2,915 female students in 35 countries. it was hypothesized that the experience of catharsis after crying would be associated with social support during crying, reasons for crying, and characteristics of the situation where the crying occurred. Several contextual features of crying episodes were indeed predictive of crying-related catharsis. Specifically, the receipt of social support, experiencing a resolution to the event that caused the crying episode, and achieving a new understanding of the event were positively related to catharsis. Crying episodes that featured the suppression of crying or the experiencing of shame from crying were less likely to be cathartic. The data suggest that contextual factors may play an important role in shaping crying-related catharsis.Catharsis is generally defined as the purging of emotions or relieving of emotional tensions. The idea of emotional catharsis dates

Crying Without Tears: Dimensions of Crying and Relations With Ocular Dryness and Mental Well-Being in Patients With Sjögren’s Syndrome

“…Expert discussion yielded the items using literature on crying and Sjögren's syndrome, existing items from crying inventories (Bylsma et al, 2008;Vingerhoets, 1995;Vingerhoets, Boelhouwer, Van Tilburg, & Van Heck, 2001), and in-depth interviews with patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome. The final version included 21 items to be answered on a 4-point Likert scale, with the response options ''1 = seldom or never,'' ''2 = sometimes,'' ''3 = regularly,'' and ''4 = very often.''…”

“…Another study observed that patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were able to cry with tears in an emotional experiment had better disease control than patients who were not able to cry with tears (Ishii, Nagashima, Tanno, Nakajima, & Yoshino, 2003). A reduction of crying ability may be determined by a multitude of factors independent of ocular dryness that may differ between people with and without a chronic disease such as emotional (e.g., depressive mood), cognitive and social context variables (Bylsma et al, 2008;Messmer, 2009;Rottenberg, Bylsma, Wolvin, & Vingerhoets, 2008;Vingerhoets, Van den Berg, Kortekaas, Van Heck, & Croon, 1993;Vingerhoets et al, 2000;Vingerhoets, 2013).…”

“…Somatic consequences of crying showed a medium association with ocular dryness and a small, negative association with mental well-being. Adverse somatic consequences may hamper the reduction of physiological arousal that is considered a core function of crying when being distressed (Bylsma et al, 2008;Rottenberg et al, 2008;Vingerhoets et al, 2000). In the general population, headaches and facial discomfort are frequently reported symptoms after crying (Blau, 1995).…”

“…First, it is a distress signal, a powerful emotional expression that elicits attention and support from the social environment. Second, it has been attributed arousal-reduction functions that facilitate psychological and physiological recovery when being distressed (Bylsma, Vingerhoets, & Rottenberg, 2008;Rottenberg, Bylsma, & Vingerhoets, 2008;Vingerhoets, Cornelius, Van Heck, & Becht, 2000).…”

When Therapists Cry: Implications for Supervision and Training

“…Because researchers have previously found differences in the rates of TCIT based on clinician's level of experience and theoretical orientation (Blume-Marcovici, et al, 2013), and because of the documented differences in rates of crying between males and females in general (Bylsma, Vingerhoets, & Rottenberg, 2008;Vingerhoets, Cornelius, Van Heck, & Becht, 2000) despite similar rates of TCIT (Blume-Marcovici, et al, 2013), and since the expression of emotion is moderated by culturally determined display rules (Ekman, 1973;Matsumoto, 1989) and freedom of expression in a given culture (van Hemert, van de Vijver, & Vingerhoets, 2011), we also aimed to investigate whether any demographic or clinical experience variables were related to different experiences of training, supervision and consultation with respect to TCIT.…”