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Is crying a good or bad way to cope with depression/depressed feelings?

42 Answers
Last Updated: 03/07/2022 at 10:35pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
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Polly Letsch, LCSW

Clinical Social Work/Therapist

I provide non-judgmental, person-centered, objective therapeutic treatment for individuals of all ages to improve social, emotional, mental and other areas of functioning.

Top Rated Answers
AnyaS
August 23rd, 2016 1:37pm
Many times after feeling depressed for a while, people tend to feel nothing at all, to feel numb. Crying shows that you are feeling something. And I think that letting out those tears and feelings are a good thing. Because it shows that you are getting somewhere! You are working on expressing those feelings! I think that crying is not a sign of weakness, but a sign that you have been strong for too long! It's okay not to be strong for a while. It's okay to be vulnerable, to cry. Because it does get you somewhere. And it proves that you are going through the process of accepting these emotions rather than keeping them in!
lovelyOcean15
July 21st, 2015 7:14pm
Crying is actually a good way to express our emotions. Its somehow venting out our feeling. It would feel better after crying.
xFlightlessBird
July 5th, 2016 7:38am
Crying is always a good way to cope with depression/depressed feelings . It literally makes you feel better. Think of the tears as all the negative things exiting your being. All of them being washed away, making way for new and fresh things.
Anonymous
January 4th, 2016 1:13pm
Crying is good. It is cathartic and gets a lot of tension out. It is in many ways a healing act for the person in pain.
Anonymous
January 9th, 2015 7:30pm
Good - your emotions are valid and you're only human. It's okay to cry, we need the tears to wash our vision clean again. It's a healthy and safe way of letting out emotions.
suprqtpie3
April 1st, 2015 1:46am
Sometimes you need to cry in order to release your emotions. If crying becomes one of the only things you do besides eating and sleeping, it is time for you to seek some help and get the relief you deserve.
Anonymous
August 10th, 2015 1:42pm
Personally I would say that crying is a good sign. Often when we are very depressed we are unable to cry. But if you feel you need to then it can allow you to release emotions and feelings that you might have been having to work hard to hold inside and it will also lower your stress levels. There is also evidence that crying can actually result in elevated mood. If you can choose when to cry - I guess the time and the place are important considerations. Crying is also an outward display of emotions. It will signal to others how you are feeling which might turn out to be a good way of communicating without having to put it into words.
Anonymous
January 9th, 2015 6:17pm
Crying, I find, can be very cathartic and a good release of pent up emotion. In that way it can be very helpful!
faintlyglowing
June 5th, 2015 10:49am
Personally, I think it is. We have all kinds of coping mechanisms and some people find crying relieving. So if for you personally you feel like crying makes you feel better, then you should go do it, just as long as you don't try to hurt yourself afterwards.
GoodVibes8
September 1st, 2015 5:32am
Crying can be a good SHORT TERM way to cope with depression/depressed feelings. Studies have shown that crying can improve your mood and relieve stress for some people, but it depends on the person. So yes, crying may help for a little while, but it is not a good long term solution to depression. Depression requires professional help in most cases in order to be cured/treated.
patientHeart75
November 2nd, 2015 9:53am
Crying is good and releases endorphin's in the body which calm the body down. If the crying does not stop then it is wise to contact a health professional.
Stheunixrn1
May 20th, 2016 8:40pm
sometimes crying is good because you can express your feelings inside that you can't tell to anyone, but crying too hard it damages your life and you can get hopeless
Anonymous
June 11th, 2015 11:32am
No doubt crying is a good way to cope with depression. Most of the times depression are caused by not revealing your true emotion and opinions which will ultimately cause a depression. Crying is a really good way to release your emotion and unhappiness.
colourfulthoughts
August 25th, 2015 4:29am
Sometimes, crying can make you feel a lot better. It's a good way to let out all of your pent-up emotions.
Anonymous
August 31st, 2015 7:08pm
It depends on the person! It is important, though, to remember that just because you are crying, doesn't mean anything bad about you! If you feel like a good, hard cry helps you before going on to tackle the problem- then go for it! Doing what makes you happy and healthy is important :)
AgentOink
April 25th, 2016 10:30pm
Sometimes, as people, we need to learn not to be ashamed of crying. It's a natural response to intense emotion, negative or positive. If you're feeling down, feeling depressed, but know that crying will make you feel better. Then go ahead, cry. If you feel, however, that you end up crying because of negative emotions, and the crying does not help, then it may not be the option for you to help.
lexi2420
November 16th, 2015 12:39am
Crying is a good coping skill. Sometimes you need to release the pain, stress, and emotions from your body to be able to bring yourself to a better place. There is no shame in crying from time to time.
Anonymous
September 6th, 2016 3:46pm
It's good thing to get part of emotions off you. It can give you a temporal relief. In the long run therapy is the way to go.
Anonymous
September 28th, 2015 7:32am
Crying is a great way to cope with depression/depressive feelings because you are letting go of all your stress and frustration when you cry. It's a very healthy thing to do.
IfTimeCouldStop62
October 17th, 2017 11:50pm
With depression, it can be hard to express feelings. It some cases, some people say they feel like they don't feel anything. By crying, you're showing that you're feeling. While it might not be the most recommended method of coping, crying can be extremely cathartic. Letting bad emotions out leaves room for good ones. So, if crying is how you need to cope right now, then let the tears flow! But also recognize that it would be a good idea to begin working towards a better way of coping.
SamWise70
May 22nd, 2015 12:29am
Crying occasionaly is a good start because it helps release the pent up emotions. If you find yourself crying all the time, however, it's time to seek help.
growingroses
February 9th, 2015 5:53am
Crying can often be very cathartic and a good way to let out negative feelings that were pent up. It might be very painful or embarrassing to cry, but it can do your emotions a ton of good.
Anonymous
December 12th, 2017 6:46pm
Sometimes people like to cry as they consider it as cleaning their views of life and how things are. It is totally okay to cry and can help let out how you are feeling
caringWatermelon95
February 19th, 2018 3:07am
Crying is healthy. When you cry, you aren’t suppressing emotions that can later lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Bblovetj
March 7th, 2016 5:06am
I think crying is good in general. You should never hold back your emotions so if you feel like crying then cry because you might feel better afterwards.
Anonymous
June 25th, 2018 10:20pm
Crying is a necessary factor, really. It is a natural, healthy way that the body releases negative feelings (and hormones, too). There are many stress-related disorders out there, and crying reduces emotional stress that may cause any of those disorders. I believe it is a totally okay coping mechanism, as long as you don't suffer any other problematic symptoms resulting from crying your feelings out (ex: paralysis, panic attacks, seizures, etc.). You'll be okay, I promise! I'm always here to talk if you'd like. Much love, Crow
Anonymous
July 31st, 2018 7:06am
Crying, the way I see it is more beneficial than not. It's not a weakness, it's more so growing stronger each time and dealing with your emotions, knowing that you are sad and you will get better right after these few tears or so.
SilverLuxray
June 14th, 2016 5:21am
Crying is a good way to cope with depression. It is never healthy to keep your feelings bottled up inside, and if nothing else works, crying is a great way to cope.
JasonDog
May 30th, 2016 1:20pm
Crying is good and very therapeutic. It gets everything out. There is no reason to keep it all inside!
xxsafaxx
May 30th, 2016 10:58am
I think crying is a good way to cope with depression as it lets out your closed emotions and feelings and once you cry it all out you feel as though a big burden has just been released from your shoulders.