I have chronic anxiety and PTSD from my time in the service. When the pressure in my chest gets two great. I end up watching a Sad movie and just ugly cry and I get relief for a few hours. Like as in zero symptoms then it all rushes back like someone is filling my lungs with water but it’s better for about a month give or take .
Then I do the whole thing over again. Schindler’s List and Grave of the fireflies are my go to’s.
I’m a dude that has no problem crying but I do have a hard time feeling things. Disassociating is a bad habit I picked up when I was in the army so I just slip into it without realizing and have to work my way out of it.
My question is the act of crying tears running down my face feeling my tear ducts flushed afterwards really a release or is something else going on here?
Crying is a physical reaction to mental stimulation. Doesn’t matter whether the stimulation is positive (happiness, fun, success…) or negative (trauma, sadness, failure…).
Crying also exhausts your body, so in a way it can influence your mood by wearing/tiring you out; but it’s not a ‘cure’ in itself.
Interesing so the feeling of my lungs filling up is me resting and getting my strength back after bottoming out and thus my anxiety starts coming back like a tsunami.