For better or worse, human adult tears are a mystery. Some of us cry easily, while others can’t mist up. Contrary to popular belief, though, little is actually known about this common behavior. Still, many of us are quick to form judgements about the attitudes and intentions of those who cry. As a clinical psychiatrist, I’ve grown accustomed to sitting across a desk from a weeping patient, yet I still sometimes struggle with how to respond.
Descriptions of crying have existed for centuries in literature and poetry. Crying for emotional reasons — as opposed to crying as an involuntary behavior — appears unique to Homo sapiens. The British psychoanalyst John Bowlby, famous for his theories of attachment between young children and adults, believed that human babies developed the ability to cry as an evolutionary tool to promote contact between the infant and its caregiver. But why do we cry as adults? The answer is complicated, and the short version suggests numerous reasons, including rage, sadness, empathy and joy.
