October 24, 2024, 2:05 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
When you cry, everything usually has to come out: the anger, the pain, and the tears. Extensive crying makes the soul a little lighter but sometimes makes the skull all the heavier. Swollen eyes are often accompanied by headaches. A certain hormone is important for this.
There are various triggers that can cause you to start crying. Negative thoughts or emotions do not always have to be responsible: Joy can also be considered a possible reason. Regardless of the fact that almost everyone knows headaches from their own experience, it is not yet known exactly what happens in the body.
Overview of
Why do we cry at all?
Objectively speaking, crying is the expression of emotions. It is often associated with sadness but can also signal other states, such as fear, anger, pain, and joy. In the worst case, situations that are extremely stressful can lead to a nervous breakdown. This can then manifest itself in the form of heavy crying, a racing heart, nausea, headaches, or sweating.
Why people start crying in certain situations is still controversial. However, there are two different theories in psychology:
- It may be a protective reaction of the body and the psyche, which can help to better process the emotions felt.
- It could be a form of human social behavior.
There are also tears that can occur due to irritation of the eye. These are also known as “reflex tears.” In contrast to tears that express emotions, these fulfill a protective function. For example, they can flush foreign bodies out of the eye. In addition, external influences such as wind, cold, or smoke can also be warded off by the production of tears.1
Why crying sometimes leads to headaches
Crying can put many people in a state where they get a headache. However, as already mentioned, it is not yet clear what exactly happens in the body when the pain occurs. Initial indications suggest that cortisol – also known as the stress hormone – could be linked to this.
Cortisol – a trigger for headaches?
According to neurologist Prof. Ulrich Pulkowski from the Schön Klinik Rendsburg, there are studies that prove that crying leads to the release of cortisol. “Crying is, of course, intense stress,” explains Pulkowski. “There are studies that show that cortisol is released.” This would increase the release of the stress hormone – especially if the crying is long and intense. This could be a possible reason why emotional stress, as we know it from crying, can cause headaches.
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Why tearful laughter does not cause headaches
However, not every type of crying immediately leads to headaches. “When we laugh through tears or have tears running down our face during an emotional movie like Titanic, we tend not to get headaches,” says Ulrich Pulkowski. “This suggests that this is a different emotion that does not cause this stress and cortisol release.”
How to get rid of the pain
If you want to get rid of an acute headache, you can reach for a painkiller – or a bottle of peppermint oil. Studies have shown that when applied to the temples and forehead, the oil can alleviate the symptoms just as well as pain medication.
with material from dpa