How to
Make Yourself Cry
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Table
of Contents
Introduction
Why You Might Want to Make Yourself Cry
Emotional
Release
Acting
On
Command Crying
How to Make Yourself Cry
Think
of Something Sad
Watch
a Sad Movie or TV Show
Listen
to Sad Music
Read
Something Sad
Cut
Up Onions
Use
Eye Drops
Think
About Letting Someone Down
Imagine
Losing a Loved One
Recall
a Time You Got Very Emotional
Practice
Your Crying Face
Focus
and Breathe
Tense
Your Whole Body
Tickle
Your Nose
Give
Yourself Permission
Tips for Making Yourself Cry More Easily
Be
Well Rested
Avoid Distractions
Find
a Private Place
Get
in the Right Headspace
Healthy Coping Mechanisms
Talk
to a Friend or Therapist
Write
in a Journal
Exercise
Take
a Warm Bath
Try
Not to Force It
When to Seek Help
Conclusion
FAQs
How to Make Yourself
Cry 😢
Introduction
Making yourself cry on command is
not as easy as it sounds. For many people, crying is something that just
happens naturally in response to powerful emotions like sadness, anger, fear,
and joy. However, there are times when you may want to purposely make yourself
cry. Learning how to push yourself over the emotional edge to produce real
tears can be a useful skill in certain circumstances. From providing emotional
release to nailing a acting role, this guide will teach you several techniques
to make yourself cry through both mental and physical means. While forcing
yourself to cry is not something you want to make a habit of, tapping into your
tear ducts voluntarily can serve valid purposes for artists, actors, or anyone
needing a good emotional cleansing. So let's explore some healthy, effective
ways to get those tears flowing!
Why You Might Want to Make
Yourself Cry
Emotional
Release
Crying can be an outlet to
release pent-up emotions and relieve stress. Letting yourself have a good cry
when you're feeling bottled up or overwhelmed can serve as a "reset"
button for your mind and body. The bio-chemicals present in emotional tears
have been shown to reduce levels of cortisol and adrenaline associated with
stress. So if you need to destress or express difficult feelings like sadness,
loneliness, fear, or grief, making yourself cry can provide that cathartic
release.
Acting
For actors, being able to cry on
cue is an essential skill for films and theatrical performances that require
weeping or sobbing. Because timing is so important, actors need to be able to
tap into their emotions instantly to cry at the right moment. Learning tricks
to quickly make yourself tear up can help you deliver a more authentic, raw
performance.
On
Command Crying
Some people simply want to learn
how to make themselves cry voluntarily as an interesting skill. Being able to
turn on the waterworks can be useful for pranking friends, demonstrating
empathy, or quickly eliciting an emotional reaction during a speech. Figuring
out how to manually flip that crying "switch" demonstrates an
intriguing level of body control.
How to Make Yourself Cry
Think of
Something Sad
Focus your thoughts on something extremely sad
- this can be from your life or an imaginary scenario. Visualize the sad scene
vividly in your mind's eye, imagine how it would feel, and let the sorrow
overwhelm you. Some sad thoughts that could help trigger tears include a
break-up, memories of a deceased loved one, pets passing away, letting someone
important down, or envisioning harm befalling someone you care deeply about.
Watch a
Sad Movie or TV Show
Watching something emotional and
dramatic involving loss, grief, heartbreak, etc can help stir up feelings that
lead to crying. Some classic tearjerkers involve deathbed scenes, sacrificed
lives, abandoned animals, terminally ill characters, or tragic historical
events. The music, acting, and storytelling can help transport you into the
emotional state of the characters on screen.
Listen to
Sad Music
Put on some tear-inducing tunes
featuring melancholy vocals, mournful lyrics, somber piano, and overall
heart-wrenching emotions. Let the sad music fill you up inside and really feel
the song. Some genres to explore include blues, acoustic ballads, emo, and
country songs about loss and pain. Create a whole sob-worthy playlist and belt
it out!
Read
Something Sad
Dive into novels, poems, scenes,
or memoirs featuring grief, trauma, death, depression, etc. Reading visceral
emotional writing allows you to intimately connect with the characters. Feeling
their pain through the powerfully descriptive language can help unlock your own
tears. Some particularly gut-wrenching reads involve losing a child, surviving
the Holocaust, or terminal illness stories.
Cut Up
Onions
Onions release a chemical
irritant called syn-propanethial-S-oxide when cut, which stimulates the eyes'
lacrimal glands and causes tears as a response. Cutting up whole onions or
cooking with onion powder can irritate your eyes and induce crying through this
chemical reaction. Just don't rub your eyes afterwards or the chemicals could
cause stinging!
Use Eye
Drops
Place 1-2 drops of saline eye
drops or allergy eye drops like Visine into each eye. The unexpected sensation
and irritation to the eyes can mimic the feel of real crying. Just be careful
not to over-use these products as it can dry out your eyes. A few drops can
instigate watery eyes or full flowing tears in many people.
Think
About Letting Someone Down
Visualize a scenario where you
disappoint or fail someone who is depending on you. Really imagine their
reaction, the hurt in their eyes, their crushed expectations. The perceived
guilt and shame can feel emotionally overwhelming. Vividly daydream about this
scenario of being unable to help someone in need to evoke regretful tears.
Imagine
Losing a Loved One
Picture someone incredibly
important to you - then mentally walk through them dying or leaving you
permanently. Envision having to live life without them, how devastating and
final it would feel, how much you wish you could see them one more time. Really
indulge your imagination - don't hold back from the immense grief of losing
your dear friend, partner, parent, child, or pet.
Recall a
Time You Got Very Emotional
Relive a powerful memory of when
you got extremely upset in the past. Recreate that moment in your mind focusing
on every detail - where you were, who was there, what was said, how your body
felt. Allow yourself to get wrapped up in the memory so you re-experience some
of those intense emotions and are moved to tears again.
Practice
Your Crying Face
Make a crying face without
forcing out tears at first: squint your eyes, frown, scrunch your chin, open
your mouth slightly to look distressed. Once your facial muscles remember this
form, stare intensely ahead and let the sadness show on your face. Pair it with
breathing techniques and thinking sad thoughts to unlock actual tears.
Focus and
Breathe
Sit or lie down in a quiet space
and close your eyes. Inhale slowly then exhale shakily as if you are already
crying. Take slow, shuddering breaths while focusing inward. Imagine your
emotion rising up through your core. Breathe into this feeling. Let your
breathing grow more and more unsteady, like gentle sobs. The meditative focus
combined with irregular breath control can help activate tears.
Tense
Your Whole Body
Take a few deep breaths, then
tense all your muscles at once. Curl your toes, flex your legs and arms,
scrunch your core and face, and hold for 10 seconds. This physical tension
starts to tremble your body similarly to crying. Release the tension quickly
and your body may continue shaking as you begin to tear up. Pair with emotional
thoughts.
Tickle
Your Nose
Use a tissue, feather, piece of
hair, your finger, etc to lightly tickle the hairs inside your nose. The nerves
connected to your nasal passage tie into your lacrimal glands. If you stimulate
these areas enough, it can trigger a reflex reaction of watery eyes and runny
nose just like natural crying. Be gentle - you don't want to trigger a full
sneezing fit!
Give
Yourself Permission
Tell yourself it's okay to cry -
in fact, you WANT to cry - it's your goal! Giving yourself permission to access
and express these emotions is a crucial first step. Too much internal
resistance or judgement can block the tears from flowing freely. Reassure
yourself that allowing tears in this moment is healthy and necessary for your
wellbeing.
Tips for Making Yourself Cry More
Easily
Be Well
Rested
Crying is more effort when you're
tired - getting a good night's sleep the day before your planned crying session
leaves you better energized for weeping. Exhaustion can limit your access to
deep emotions. So approach crying with energy reserves instead of empty tanks.
Avoid
Distractions
Minimize anything that could
interrupt your focus when trying to cry, like phone notifications, talking to
others, or having the TV on. Find a quiet space alone where external stimuli
won't snap you out of an emotional mindset right when the tears begin to build.
Find a
Private Place
Having privacy supports a
vulnerable emotional process like intentional crying. A comfortable, judge-free
zone where no one can intrude or observe you supports relaxation into sadness,
without self-consciousness inhibiting your tears.
Get in
the Right Headspace
To maximize your chances of
turning on the waterworks, get into an emotional headspace beforehand. This
could involve writing in a journal, looking through old photos, listening to
sad music, or meditating. Build up that melancholy vibe inside before attempting
to transform feelings into real flowing tears.
Healthy Coping Mechanisms
While occasionally making
yourself cry can provide catharsis, you want to avoid relying on forced crying
as an everyday coping strategy, which could lead to worsened mental health.
Here are some healthier
long-term approaches:
Talk to a
Friend or Therapist
Verbalizing your feelings and
life challenges to a trusting listener you feel safe confiding in can help
relieve emotional pressure. Therapists are professionally trained to help you
healthily process and navigate difficult emotions.
Write in
a Journal
Pouring feelings out onto paper
through stream-of-consciousness journaling can help you privately vent.
Articulating your thoughts and releasing them from your mind onto the page
feels purging for many.
Exercise
Physical activity is a proven way
to reduce stress by releasing endorphins that uplift your mood naturally. Daily
exercise helps prevent negative emotions from building up too intensely.
Take a
Warm Bath
Enjoy a relaxing warm bath with
Epsom salts which soothe the nervous system and magnesium which reduces
cortisol levels. Paired with calm breathing and soft music, a bath can melt
stress away.
Try Not
to Force It
While occasionally manually
pushing some tears out can feel relieving, don’t force crying daily as it may
start to feel inauthentic and increase frustration. Focus on the above healthy
habits for long-term emotional wellbeing.
When to Seek Help
It's normal to occasionally want
a good cry, but frequent forced crying could indicate an underlying mental
health issue that needs professional support.
Seek counseling if:
- You feel like crying daily but
can't seem to let it happen
- Making yourself cry brings
minimal relief
- Intense emotions overwhelm your
daily functioning
- You use forced crying to avoid
other healthy coping strategies
- Thoughts of self-harm arise
Speaking with a mental health
professional can help you get to the root causes behind frequent crying urges
and teach healthy long-term coping techniques. Support groups and therapy
provide judgement-free spaces to express emotions verbally. Don't be afraid to
get help – it can change your life.
Conclusion
Learning how to make yourself cry
on demand takes some trial and error. Techniques like recalling sad memories,
listening to moving music, watching emotional movies, and staring into a fan
can help activate your tear ducts voluntarily. While occasional intentional
crying can provide catharsis, be sure to tap into healthy coping mechanisms
like exercise, journaling, warm baths, and talking to friends or therapists for
everyday emotional regulation. Crying is a natural emotional release valve -
with the right tools, you can learn to tap into it consciously. Just use this
power wisely and avoid forcing it to unhealthy extremes. If you invest some
time finding the right environment, headspace, and stimuli for your unique
personality, the healing tears will flow. Now get out there and give it a try -
your emotional health is worth the effort!
FAQs
What is the fastest way to make yourself cry?
Some of the quickest ways to make
yourself cry include using eye drops, cutting up onions, or tickling your nose
with a feather. The irritation causes reflexive watery eyes. Also staring
intensely into a fan blowing directly on your face can quickly trigger tears.
How can I cry instantly?
Thinking of something emotionally
devastating and forcing yourself to mentally experience it can produce instant
crying. Recalling a past trauma or vividly imagining the loss of a loved one
are examples. Also, looking at photos of someone you miss who has passed away
while listening to melancholy music can quickly cause tears.
Why can't I cry when I'm sad?
You may have trouble crying when
sad due to bottling up emotions, judging yourself for crying, exhaustion,
distraction, not wanting to appear vulnerable, fear of losing control, or
depression blunting emotions. Finding a private space, giving yourself permission
to cry, opening up to others, making crying sounds, and thinking deeply about
sadness can help.
Why do I cry when I'm not sad?
Crying when not sad could be due
to being overwhelmed, stressed, angry, or frustrated. Pent up emotions and
feeling oversensitive to minor challenges can trigger tears. Crying from
emotions besides sadness is normal too - laughing, nostalgia, empathy and
poignancy can also induce tears.
Is it bad to make yourself cry?
Occasionally making yourself cry
is normal and can provide emotional release. But forcing yourself to cry daily
could cause worsened mental health, emotional numbness, and physical problems
like headaches. Relying on self-induced crying too often can indicate deeper
issues requiring counseling support.
Can you damage your eyes from crying?
Frequent and intense crying
probably won't damage your eye health directly. But excessive crying can lead
to bloodshot eyes, eyelid swelling, burst blood vessels, and light sensitivity.
Dehydration from loss of fluids can indirectly impact eye dryness too.
Practicing good eye hygiene like cold compresses can limit irritation.
How can I cry secretly?
To cry privately, find a secluded
spot like an empty bathroom or parked car. Play music on your headphones to
mask sobbing sounds. Sunglasses can hide red, puffy eyes after crying.
Splashing your face with cold water can reduce evidence of tears. Avoid crying
in front of certain judgmental people. Opening up to a close confidante can
provide needed emotional release without judgement.
What triggers the cry reflex?
The reflexive cry response is
triggered by irritation to your eyes, nose, and throat. Yawning, coughing,
laughter, and deep breaths can also instigate reflexive tears. Emotional
triggers include feelings of sadness, grief, nostalgia, anger, joy, loneliness,
fear, and empathy or poignancy from stories, memories, music, and imagery.
Can certain medications make it harder to cry?
Yes, some medications like those
for allergies, colds, depression, anxiety, pain, nausea, and psychosis can
inhibit tears as a side effect. They can limit production from your lacrimal
glands or desensitize your nervous system's signals to cry. Discuss any crying
side effects with your doctor. Never abruptly stop medication without medical
supervision.
Is there a medical condition that prevents
crying?
Yes, a rare disorder called
Familial Dysautonomia can impair a sufferer's ability to cry tears, amongst
other dysfunctions of the autonomic nervous system. Certain congenital
disabilities, neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, and essential crying
disorders could also inhibit crying. See a doctor if concerned.