Why are tears a bodily response to emotions? Does it serve a purpose?
In: Biology
Unexplainable just did an episode on this: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1cQYpa3edn7NTsnEdSbJd3?si=hDCofjkCSpibbP8Azcdz3Q
It’s a recognizable signal that someone is in emotional distress. One of the biggest evolutionary advances in humans is our ability to form complex, mutually beneficial social structures – and a big part of that is our ability to recognize when someone is happy, sad, angry, etc. Being able to identify when someone is in distress enables us to know when that person requires aid in order to continue to be a contributing member of the tribe.
Physical and emotional pain trigger a lot of the same things in our body.
Crying is a form of self-soothing that actually releases endorphins and oxytocin, which make us feel better. The outward parts of crying (tears, sobbing sounds) are more to indicate to people around us that we’re in distress.
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