Why Am I Crying For No Reason? A Guide to Understanding Your Emotions
Do you find yourself asking “why am I crying for no reason?” Are you crying every day? If you’re experiencing random crying, chances are that you’re going through a lot. There are many reasons why you might be crying on a daily basis, even if you don’t know what they are.
It’s very common for people who are dealing with life transitions, stress, anxiety, depression, hormonal changes, etc. to find themselves crying every day. Sometimes the tears seem to come out of nowhere, but that’s because your body is trying to find release.
It’s ok to experience random crying. It might be frustrating for you if it’s happening at inconvenient times, but it can be normal to cry every day. Some people just hide it really well.
We’re here to tell you that when you’re going through a distressing time, whatever that is for you, it’s normal to cry a lot. Crying is a healthy release of the stress, worry, and negative emotions you’re carrying around.
What’s not healthy is if you’re crying all the time and it’s getting in the way of your everyday life.
Why Am I Crying For No Reason?
There are many reasons why you’d find yourself crying every day. A common one that we see a lot in our clients is depression. Many people take the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), which is a self-administered test that scores you based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) criteria for different mental health diagnoses, including depression, to understand whether they have depression or not. The PHQ-9 is the module specifically for depression. This test should not be a replacement for seeing a therapist or psychiatrist to diagnose you with depression, but it can give you an idea of whether you may or may not be depressed.
Another reason you might be crying every day is anxiety. One way that people experience anxiety is through random crying. The crying might feel random, but your body is dealing with the anxiety you’re feeling in one of the only ways it knows how. Crying is a release and can be a good thing if it makes you feel better and less anxious.
Postpartum depression and hormonal changes are other sources of random crying. Many new moms experience postpartum depression. It’s common for moms to cry in the shower because it’s the only time they’re alone. If you find yourself crying due to postpartum depression, know that it’s normal and won’t be this way forever. We encourage you to seek counselling for postpartum depression to manage your depressive symptoms.
Life transitions can be a big source of crying every day. Some of these include breakups, moving, changing jobs, graduating from college, divorce, and starting a family. Additionally, you may be feeling a lot of stress. When you’re overwhelmed, it’s common to cry more. You may not even realize how stressed you are until you start crying all the time.
If you’re grieving, feelings of sadness, anger, and despair can come on at any moment. If you’ve lost someone close to you, it’s expected that you would cry at random times. Grief doesn’t always make sense, and everyone experiences it differently. If you’re grieving either a lost loved one or a relationship, it’s understandable that you’d cry a lot. Sometimes grief hits us at random times, causing what feels like random crying.
Why Do I Feel Like Crying?
There are many reasons you might feel like crying, like the ones we discussed. But maybe life is throwing you curveballs that are difficult to manage.
There are times in our lives when we just get so overwhelmed by everything that we can’t help but experience random crying. You may not be able to identify the reason you’re crying. Most of the time people cry as an emotional release for something they are feeling.
You might be sad, depressed, anxious, overwhelmed, stressed, or even happy! There’s still a lot that is unknown about why people cry, but it’s usually connected to some kind of emotional release.
Is It Normal to Cry Every Day?
If you’re going through a difficult time, it’s understandable if you’re crying every day. There are so many reasons why you might be experiencing what seems like random crying.
It’s normal to cry a lot when you’re going through a difficult time, but it might mean you need some extra support with your mental health. If you’re going through a tough time or you’re feeling depressed or anxious, it’s completely normal to cry every day.
While it’s normal, it’s not ideal. We want to help you manage your emotions so that the crying isn’t causing you distress. For some people, crying every day gives them an emotional release and then they feel better. If this is true for you, you still could use some extra support, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing to be crying every day.
If I’m Crying Every Day, Does That Mean I’m Depressed?
Depression is one reason why you might be crying every day. If the crying is because of depression, there is help that exists. A doctor or psychiatrist can help you determine if there could be a medical reason why you are crying every day, and a therapist can help you work through your depressive symptoms and understand why you are crying every day.
Here are some other symptoms of depression:
Sadness
Hopelessness
Emptiness
Loss of interest in pleasurable activities (including sex)
Increased or loss of appetite
Sleeping more
Not getting enough sleep
Agitation
Feeling worthless
Guilt
Recurring thoughts of death
Sometimes people who are depressed don’t cry at all because they feel numb or empty. If you think you’re depressed, reach out to a counsellor and seek support from family and friends.
If you’re ready to take the first step in understanding why you’re crying every day, contact us to schedule an appointment. We are located in Ontario, Canada and look forward to working with you as you break free from depression and start feeling like yourself again.
