Do you ever have one of those days when everything seems to go wrong? Where you count up the things that are toppling over in your careful balanced world, and you’re just waiting for the crash? I have those sometimes.

I’m having one at this very moment. I’m not sure it’s a great time to blog when my world is teetering. I’ve counted up the things that need money in the next month, and it’s more than the money I have now or probably will have in the future (making a living as a writer is not easy). And when you have a sick hedgehog and a sick car, money disappears. And then Christmas.

Ugh.

So then I started crying. Because obviously crying makes things all better.

Actually, it helps. Allowing yourself a moment of unfettered despair cleans out those emotions. After crying, I was curious about the benefits of tears because there must be benefits. From a purely biological standpoint, tears must have a beneficial purpose or humans wouldn’t have evolved to the point that we shed them while experiencing extreme emotions. From a spiritual and emotional standpoint, crying must have a purpose if it comes in conjunction with those same emotions.

The Benefits of Tears:

• Tears help to release stress hormones from the body.
• Tears help to produce endorphins, which make you feel better (and less sad—score!).
• Tears heal. It doesn’t sound scientific, but Psychology Today says it, so I’m going with it.
• Tears start your body’s calming down process.
• Tears relieve pain, (according to Healthline).

Are all my problems solved? No. I’m still poor. I’m still grossly over-qualified for writing jobs that I can’t seem to get. But maybe I feel better. Maybe crying out all the bad uncovered the good, the hope and the optimism that were just being obscured by the darkness.

Choose Joy (even if you have to work through the sadness first).

—A