Prescribed Crying

After my Dad died in 2007, I didn’t cry.
I didn’t cry when I was in the room with him as he died and I didn’t cry after the fact for approximately 10 years.
Obviously, that isn’t super great. Crying is the body’s way of allowing stress and emotion to vacate the body and here I was just allowing it all to accumulate in my body and bones.
I had to realize why I wasn’t crying in the first place.
What was I making crying mean?
Well, I was making it mean that I was weak.
That I couldn’t support others as they cried.
That I would be an inconvenience if I cried too.
Clearly, as I began to work on myself I also had to work to heal this part of me. 10 years after his death and the first day I walked into therapy and the damn burst. Hot tears flooded my face for about 15 minutes before I could catch my breath.
It was relief.
And it was exhausting.
But I realized I was still valuable.
I wasn’t a disappointment because I was crying.
Since that day, I’ve tried to become friends with my tears and now I do something called Prescribed Crying.
I will collect and save up soldier coming home videos, puppy rescue videos, good deed videos, and stories about humanity being absolutely beautiful.
Then, when I feel my cup filleth up, I sit in my room or wherever I am and I let the tears fall.
I don’t wipe them away (until I’m done)
because I used to wipe tears away as an act of shame.
But crying isn’t shameful.
It’s like sweating.
Just from your eyes.
So, if you are someone who has a hard time tapping into those emotions, I highly recommend giving prescribed crying a go. You may not be comfortable doing it in front of people, so set aside some time in your space to allow yourself the space and time to cry.
Let it go.
Holding onto it helps no one.
Here are a few accounts on instagram to grab some lovely videos:

@tanksgoodnews
@super_lovely_cat
@worthfeed
@goodnews_movement
@goodnewsdog