WHY DO PEOPLE CRY WHEN THEY ARE HAPPY?

WEIRD TIMES TO CRY?

It happened when I got married. It happened when I gave birth. It happened when my daughter graduated pre-school. It happened when I saw the Rocky Mountains up close for the first time. And it just happened right now, when I watched the final episode of the Sex and the City, when Big met Carrie in Paris, and Carrie realized it was Big she was destined to be with all along. I....CRIED!

I often feel like a big wuss crying at these happy events. It's just so...mushy...so weak. And anyway, why am I crying? These are HAPPY things! Crying when I am sad or hurt or frustrated or depressed..now THAT makes sense. But when I'm happy? When everything is going so well..or when something is so beautiful, or when a movie or show seems so perfect, and everything ends up JUST RIGHT that I feel literally filled with joy to the point of bursting? NOW THAT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL! Or....does it?

TEARS OF JOY DO MAKE SENSE, AFTER ALL (SCIENTIFICALLY SPEAKING)!

Turns out it does. It seems that there is a perfectly good reason why you cry at happy events. And no, it does NOT mean you are a wuss. Just human! It's actually a sort of scientific reason, so bear with me. Here goes:

Emotional tears contain more manganese, an element that affects temperament - and also more prolactin, a hormone that regulates milk production. So, sobbing out manganese and prolactin is thought to relieve tension by balancing the body's stress levels and eliminating build-ups of chemicals....therefore, making the crier FEEL BETTER!

Whoo! So THAT'S why it happens!  Basically, it's just a way for the body to relieve a build-up of tension....even GOOD tension....because any strong emotion can cause this reaction in the body. Hence....tears of JOY spill out, and cause your body's stress levels to be balanced, once again!

EMBARRASSING UNCONTROLLABLE LIBRARY LAUGHING (AND CRYING)!

Here is a funny story .....(LITERALLY)....I was in the library with my daughter, looking for books to read. We picked a few, and sat at a table, thumbing through them. There was this one book...it was about a little boy named Sam, who was being toilet trained. I started reading some of it out loud, and it just struck me so funny!

It was written in a really humorous way....something about Sam thinking the "training" had to do with "choo-choos" ......it was just one of those situations where my funny bone was tickled, and I could NOT stop laughing...and in a LIBRARY no less....with my daughter, whom I'm SUPPOSED to be setting a good example for!

Anyway, the more I tried to stop laughing, the funnier it seemed (we've all been there) and before I knew it, I had TEARS streaming down my face as I sat there laughing hysterically. My daughter, thankfully, was too young to be embarrassed. But I was embarrassed. People probably thought I was crazy! I remember my daughter being surprised, asking, "Are you CRYING?" Well..yes...I was...laughing so hard I was crying!

TOY STORY 3?

So don't feel bad about crying at a funny book in the library, or when you're witnessing something so beautiful it moves you to tears, or at the end of a movie. It's actually good for your body - and perfectly normal.

If it makes you feel better, I cried at the end of Toy Story 3. Sure the toys found a good home, and a great NEW owner. But Andy was going off to college - it was the last time he'd ever play with Woody or Buzz again...it was happy....the toys would live on...but it was also a very emotional event for me!

(I have to go now. I am making the keyboard wet)!

Here's a question: What happy events make you cry? Which movies?