As I was reading Zahava's post and thought about the idea that we learned in class and from the book, that if we do a certain emotion (smile) we can then feel the emotion that comes with it afterwards (happy). What came to my mind was crying.
I do not think that this is the case for crying, since when I fake cry I dont feel like it makes me sad. Also the idea that we should not let the anger out for example by punching our pillow since it will not help us get rid of the anger but may make us even angrier does not apply to crying.
Maybe it is because of the different reasons why we cry. One approach that I have heared somewhere was that we cry because we want people to feel empathy and that makes us feel better, to be able to share with others our weak moments.
I think this approach is very clever since it gives us an understanding for why we cry and why it is good to let it out sometimes.
ohhh i found your post very interesting and wanted to comment on a few things.Firstly, although the book states that catharsis is not helpful and actually more harmful, i personally decided to disagree with that! I think that if you are angry and punch the wall a little or cry you sort of release part of your anger. Although it is certainly not gone doesnt in decrease a little and then allow you to work out the rest with time, patience and the aid of others. Secondly, i found this last approach on why we cry(in order to get the empathy of others,etc)very interesting since i have never heard that before. However, there are so many people who absolutely refuse to cry in public and only do so in public. In addition, very often do the tears come without people wanting them to and thats not because of the reason stated above but because the emotion takes over.
ReplyDeleteDearest sharon,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post. I personally don't cry a lot. I''ve cried once in the past two years. I think it is a cathartic experience. It's like throwing up- you kind of feel better after you do it, even though it sucks at first. It just makes you feel better. I think you're right. Keeping your emotions in when it comes to crying isn't good. You'll end up feeling sad and overwhelmed, and then it will come bursting out of you.
Don't be afraid to cry... it makes you feel better.