Mammals, not just humans, are capable of weeping tears due to emotional distress or physical discomfort.
Why Do We Cry Uncontrollably?
Venturing into a realm of raw human emotions, it's fascinating to explore the mystifying phenomenon of crying, a distinct characteristic that sets us apart from other creatures. To be exact, we are the only known species to weep like this, responding overwhelmingly to gloom, elation, or unbearable stimuli with brimming eyes and cascading tears.
When it comes to our moistening eyes, basal and reflex tears are no exception — performing the lymphatic duty and clearing irritants, just like our fellow creatures. But it's when we experience emotional turmoil that separates us from other animals.
If you ever marveled at how fragile yet persistent this human trait is, consider this: while other animals produce tears to maintain eye health, emotional tearing isn't a trait we've noticed in them—making it a remarkable feature of our biology. Moreover, human emotional tears offer a silent, potent message to the world, expressing vulnerability, which can give rise to empathy and camaraderie.
But why did we evolve to weep in response to our deepest feelings? There isn't an unambiguous survival benefit to the whole waterworks display. Crying demands energy, exposes us, and doesn't tend to give a helping hand when it comes to escaping danger or finding food. And yet, it's such an integral part of human experience that we imagine the depths of someone's feelings by whether they cry or not. Does the flood of saltwater in our eyes somehow hold a hidden secret that even our cleverest scientists haven't cracked yet?
Much like our misunderstanding of human evolution that once put us 40 million years off (can you believe that?), might we be skipping over a vital piece of the crying puzzle? So, what exactly is happening here, folks?
Theories on Emotional Crying
Here's where the guessing game comes in. Several theories attempt to explain why emotional crying evolved:
- Communication and Social Cohesion: Emotional tears act as a powerful distress signal, which triggers others to offer solace. This could have provided evolutionary advantages, encouraging group solidarity and increasing the likelihood of assistance during times of hardship.
- Stress Hormone Release: Crying allows our bodies to dispose of stress-related hormones, aiding in stress regulation after emotional turmoil.
- Emotional Self-regulation: Crying helps us process and release intense emotions, facilitating emotional self-regulation and offering psychological relief.
- Infant-Caregiver Interaction: Infant crying — often accompanied by tears — is a primary means of communication to attract caregiver attention and fulfill basic needs. Adult emotional crying may have evolved as an extension of this communication method.
- Accidental Association: Some theories propose that emotional tears emerged as a side effect of the mechanical pressure on the tear ducts during emotional outbursts, particularly in children, and this link became a tool for emotional communication later on.
- Gesture of Surrender: Another idea is that crying functions as a "gesture of surrender," declaring that the crier is no threat to potentially reduce harm in confrontational situations.
While we may never be absolutely certain what evolutionary advantage emotional crying presents, it's clear that it plays an essential role in human communication, emotional self-regulation, and social cohesion.
Comparing Human and Animal Tears
| Feature | Humans (Emotional Crying) | Other Animals (Tears) ||-----------------------------------|----------------------------|-----------------------|| Trigger | Emotions (happiness, sadness) | Physical (lubrication, irritant) || Communication | Yes (social signaling) | No || Evolutionary Purpose | Social bonding, stress relief | Eye protection |
- The study of emotional crying in humans furthers our knowledge of health-and-wellness, specifically mental-health, as understanding its evolutionary purpose can provide valuable insights into human society and interaction.
- In the realm of science, the comparison between human emotional tears and those of other animals can offer a unique opportunity to explore the biological differences that contribute to the distinctive human trait of emotional crying, and the potential benefits this may have for health-and-wellness and mental-health.
