Causes
Hormones People with higher levels of the hormone prolactin, common in those assigned female at birth, tend to cry more often. In contrast, the hormone testosterone seems to inhibit crying, which could explain why people with higher testosterone levels tend to cry less often than people with little to no testosterone. People who menstruate might also experience uncontrollable crying as part of the menstrual cycle or when hormone levels change during menopause. What you can do: If you think your crying jags are caused by hormonal fluctuations, talk to your doctor about medications and other treatment options.
Stress or anxiety Stress can pile up without you realizing it until you become completely overwhelmed. You might start crying to release some of that stress and tension that you've built up, even though you feel as though the crying spell came from out of nowhere. What you can do: Get to a safe place where you can collect yourself. Try a breathing exercise to calm yourself down or do a body scan meditation to release tension in your body. Bosch notes that for crying from stress or anxiety, "a lot of times, if we can come back to the present moment and remind ourselves that we're safe right now, this can help us to settle down."
Loneliness It's totally possible that you're lonely but don't even realize it. This is especially likely if you live alone and tend to keep really busy. You might find that you're really just trying to keep yourself from thinking about your loneliness. What you can do: Join a local club or group related to something that interests you. Go out of your house and spend time out in public on a regular basis. Reach out to old friends you've fallen out of touch with.
Burnout If you've ever found yourself crying uncontrollably at work or school, burnout might be to blame. When your responsibilities and workload gradually increase, you might not even realize how much you're taking on until it becomes too much and overwhelms you. When you don't take enough time for yourself, you're likely to end up burnt out. What you can do: Take time off as soon as you can. Until you have a chance for a full break, carve out time each day to engage in self-care and recharge your mental batteries.
Grief The grieving process isn't linear. If you've lost someone close to you, it's possible you'll find you suddenly burst into tears seemingly for no reason, weeks or even months after you thought you'd already processed the loss. This is just a normal part of grieving and isn't anything to worry about. What you can do: Take a moment to think about the person you've lost or what might have triggered your grief to bubble to the surface. Sit with your feelings and allow them to come out. Bosch agrees that "if you have gone through a difficult time, you need to allow yourself to feel the emotions that made you cry."
Repressed emotions If you don't feel comfortable expressing your emotions you might try to push them down. But often you can only push your feelings down for so long before they force their way out. If you've been repressing your emotions for so long that you don't even realize you're doing it, you could easily feel as though you had just suddenly started crying for no reason. Repressed emotions might also be related to the norms of your culture. For example, men might have more repressed emotions in a culture that values stoicism in men. What you can do: Talk to a therapist if possible. They can help you unpack and process emotions that you've repressed as well as work through complex emotions that might be overwhelming you.
Mental condition Uncontrollable crying spells are most associated with depression, but other mental health conditions can cause you to cry for seemingly no reason as well. What you can do: Talk to a doctor or therapist if you suspect you have a mental health condition but you're undiagnosed. If you already have a diagnosis, tell your doctor about your crying spells—they might be able to recommend an effective treatment.
Neurological condition Some nervous system conditions, including stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS), traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, can cause bouts of uncontrollable crying (or laughter). This condition is known as the "pseudobulbar affect" and can be managed with medication. What you can do: Tell the doctors who are treating your neurological condition about this symptom. They'll determine the best way to address it.
Ways to Cope with Uncontrollable Crying
Tell others what's going on. People are less likely to be taken off-guard (and perhaps say something insensitive as a result) if they know that you're prone to uncontrollable crying. It's up to you who you talk to, just let them know that you've had sudden crying jags lately and you would appreciate their support as you cope with this issue. Bosch agrees that "fears are easier to fight when you have support from people who love you," so try not to be embarrassed and allow others to help. Talking to others is especially helpful if there's a neurological cause for your crying, which can cause you to cry at completely inappropriate times. If people close to you know about your condition they won't be surprised or weirded out and will understand how to support you.
Let yourself cry. If you're in a situation with some privacy where you can take a moment to yourself, let those tears flow! Even if you feel as though you're crying for no reason, your body had a reason that it chose that particular release. Honor your body's choice and let it out. For example, if you've been repressing a lot of difficult emotions or holding back a lot of tension, a good cry can help you feel a lot better and more relaxed about your situation. Remember that crying is a natural stress response. Even though it might seem embarrassing to cry in some situations, there's nothing wrong with it.
Use a deep breathing exercise to stop the tears. If you slow down your breathing and heart rate, sometimes you can interrupt the nervous response that started the tears. Try inhaling to the count of 4 and then exhaling to the count of 5. Pause, then inhale to the count of 4 again. Repeat a half a dozen times or until you start to feel more at peace. You can also use breathing exercises to help you release your emotions in a healthy way. This is valuable if your crying jags seem to be caused by something emotional.
Distract yourself with something mentally absorbing. If you don't necessarily feel upset, you might be able to turn off the waterworks by finding something else to occupy your mind. Even reading a random wikipedia article can be sufficiently distracting that your body "forgets" all about that crying it was going to do. The point here is to intentionally ignore the proverbial elephant in the room—the fact that you feel teary. If you can get your mind onto something else, the episode might pass.
Try "stop crying" strategies to dry your eyes. These strategies are typically aimed at decreasing anxiety and tension to interrupt your body's stress response that triggers crying. If you feel anxious or panicky, try a grounding exercise to settle your nervous system. Bosch recommends that you "bring yourself back into the present moment by... attending to your senses." Basically, you look around you and name 5 things that you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. This exercise will help ground you in the present.
See a doctor for medical treatment. There are some prescription medications that target uncontrollable crying spells, usually as a symptom of a psychological or neurological condition. Therapy and other treatments can also be beneficial, depending on the root cause of your crying jags. Even if your uncontrollable crying doesn't seem to be associated with any particular condition, a therapist can help you figure out possible triggers as well as coping strategies.
When to Seek Medical Help
You can't control when you start crying. As an adult, you typically have pretty good control over crying, unless you're in serious physical pain. This is the reason uncontrollable crying can be so scary—you've lost control that you normally have. If you find that you can't hold back the tears, especially when they seem to come for no reason, there might be something else going on. This also relates to times when your crying has nothing to do with what's going on around you. For example, you might be walking across a parking lot and suddenly burst into tears, completely unprovoked. If this only happens to you once it might not be that big of a deal, but if it happens frequently and there's no emotional connection to the crying, there might be a neurological reason.
You have a hard time stopping crying. It would be one thing if you just teared up for a second and then were able to quickly recover. But with your crying jags, once you get started, it might be an hour or longer before you're able to get yourself together. Even if you stop briefly, you might find that you almost immediately start up again. Pay particular attention if methods that used to help you stop crying in the past don't work anymore. That's a sign that this crying has a different cause.
Your crying jags interfere with your daily life. Generally speaking, crying does good things for your physical and mental health. Even if you don't understand the reason you're doing it, if you're crying, it's safe to assume it's something your body needs. At the same time, if you're crying so frequently that you find it hard to go through your regular routine, you might benefit from medical help. This also applies if you avoid doing things or going out with friends because you're afraid you'll suddenly start crying for no reason.
Your crying jags have become relatively frequent. Crying jags typically have to be pretty frequent to interfere with your normal life, but here you're looking for a trend. If your crying jags are increasing in frequency regardless of what you do, that's likely cause for concern. Try to document how frequent your crying spells were at first and the period over which that frequency has been increasing. That could give doctors information about the progression of any potential neurological condition.
Your crying jags are accompanied by other symptoms. This is especially important if you have never been diagnosed with a neurological or psychological condition. Other symptoms could indicate that one of those conditions is causing your crying jags and your crying jags likely won't get better until the underlying condition is treated. It can help to log your symptoms over the course of a few days or weeks. That will make it easier for your doctor to assess your condition and narrow down appropriate diagnoses. If you're concerned about a possible psychological condition, keep a mental health journal to make it easier to describe your concerns.
Is crying good for you?
Yes, crying can help ease physical and emotional pain. There are different types of tears—but the kind that are triggered by your emotions can actually be very healing. That's because crying triggers the release of endorphins in your brain, leading to a sense of relief. You might even experience physically pleasurable sensations. Figuring out what's causing you to cry uncontrollably can help you actually realize these benefits. While crying can serve as a release, it doesn't accomplish much if you don't know what you're releasing. It's important to remember that even though you might think you're crying for no reason, your body always has a reason. Crying is a natural reaction and not something to be embarrassed or ashamed about.
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