Welcome back! If you haven’t checked out Part 1: Suffering in silence, go check it out now and come back. As I prepared to talk about letting my tears flow; I was curious about what scientific purpose tears possess, and the results surprised me. Scientists tell us that there are three types of tears. The type of tears that I am describing fit in the emotional tears category.  Emotional tears; unlike the other two types, release different elements and chemicals. There is still a lot to learn about the purpose of releasing emotional tears. Some hypothesize that these tears release stress and provide our brain with endorphins (which are the feel good hormones). My experience in releasing the tears has led me to a process of healing (Mukamal, 2017).

 For me, once the tears start flowing, my silence is broken. After the silence is broken, I am able to process with curiosity whatever is attached to those tears. I know that for my brain, allowing the tears to flow when they need to about what they need to, ensures that my brain can grief, clean things up, and figure out how to make meaning and move forward. An added bonus to this process, another type of silence is broken, my voice. I am able to talk to others about my sorrow sometimes with a few tears and mostly from a whole new place of healing. 

 Learning this important lesson a few years ago has made me stronger than I could have ever imagined in silence. I thank God, that women’s weekend, and my extremely close friends and family who show up for me, tears and all. I know there will be more tears in my future, and now I know they are a gift of the healing process.

 I talk with my clients a lot about releasing tears. Many tell me they are afraid once they let them out they will never be able to stop. I usually smile, because I know and have the personal experience that the tears do, in fact, stop. What comes after the tears, after the release, is very powerful. Having that kind of presence in the pain you experience is a gift you give to yourself and the beginning of your healing journey. 

We all deserve release, we all deserve healing. I am asking each of you to consider what it could look like to stop suffering in silence.

I invite you to explore what it could look like for you to break your silence. Then, check out part 3 - releasing loss. ~ Jenna

Reference:
Mukamal, Reena. All About Emotional Tears (2017), https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/all-about-emotional-tears.