Is there a purpose?
In: Biology
When you become aroused, emotionally or physically, your sympathetic nervous system increases its activity. Your sympathetic nervous system is identical to many other animal’s in that it increases in activation when you need to fight, run away, or freeze up until the danger passes. Your heart rate goes up, you breathe harder, and blood rushes from your guts to your extremities so that you are prepared to survive whatever life is throwing your way at the moment.
Crying is a by-product of the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system ramps up activity when your sympathetic nervous system is ramped up (usually when you’re very happy, very sad, very angry, or very nervous). As activity increases in the parasympathetic system, it decreases activity of the sympathetic nervous system, so that you won’t die from your heart and respiration rate going up beyond the danger zone for an extended period of time.
In sum, crying is regulatory: you cry to lower your heart and respiration rate, and it also allows for the re-activation of the parts of your brain that were shut off (most importantly, the logical problem-solving part of your brain) due to extreme activation of your flight/fight/freeze response to something that stressed you out.
Who said I was crying?
What is the biological purpose of headaches?
Swearing relieves mental stress. Perhaps there is large scale benefits to releasing some of the sadness.
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