Title: Try Not to Cry: Is Holding Back Tears Bad for Your Health? | Shape
Headings: Is It Bad for Your Health to Try ~ Not ~ to Cry?
Is It Bad for Your Health to Try ~ Not ~ to Cry?
Here's what happens to your body when you turn off the waterworks

Content: Crying is essentially a release valve that rids your body of excess stress and tension, so when a sobfest is on the horizon and you hold it in, your body's sympathetic nervous system (or fight-or-flight response) kicks into gear, says Nicole Van Groningen, M.D., an internist at NYU Langone Medical Center. Your brain signals your adrenal glands to release stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. These chemicals boost your heart rate and blood pressure, which can translate into chest tightness and heavy breathing as you force yourself not to cry. These hormones can also mess with your appetite and blood sugar levels, hence the pre-meltdown butterflies and energy surge. "Suppressing an emotion (in this case, frustration or sadness) actually heightens it and makes you feel worse," says psychologist Nikki Martinez, Psy. D. "So while you might think you're distracting yourself, the stress is actually growing." The occasional tear detour is one thing (blubbering mid-meeting probably wouldn't go over well with the boss), but doing so on the regular gives your body's stress response more opportunities to cause trouble, she adds. In the short-term, it can cause pesky problems like irritability, anxiety, and poor sleep, and over time high blood pressure, heart problems, and diabetes. Not cool. So if you need to bawl and are able to take a minute, it's in your best interest to go ahead and cry before going back to your regularly scheduled programming, says Van Groningen.