S2E2: Cry

Why do humans cry? In this episode, I explore something we all experience—but rarely stop to understand. Not all tears are the same. Some are basal tears—quiet, constant, keeping our eyes moist and protected. Some are reflex tears—an immediate response to irritants like smoke, dust, or even cutting onions. But then there are emotional tears—and that’s where things get deeper. Crying isn’t weakness. It’s regulation. It’s the body’s way of: releasing built-up pressure self-soothing the nervous system communicating what words sometimes can’t and connecting us to others We cry from joy, stress, sadness, grief, and loss—because we’re human. And yet, in U.S. culture, many of us are taught to suppress it: “tough it out” “don’t cry” “stay professional” Shaped by gender norms, media, and generational patterns, we’ve learned to hide something that is actually biologically and emotionally necessary. But as Aniela Jaffé (a student of Carl Jung) echoed: What you resist, persists. Suppressing emotions doesn’t make them disappear—it often makes them louder. So maybe the real issue isn’t crying… It’s the discomfort we’ve been taught to feel around it. In this episode, I unpack the science, the stigma, and the humanity behind tears—and close with a personal poem, #cry, as a reminder: Sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do… is let it out.