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Most of us have had this experience: you burst into tears unexpectedly and have to pause to ask yourself, “Why am I crying?” Emotions can seem to surface randomly and for no clear reason, leaving you confused, surprised, or even frustrated. However, emotions are a product of situations, conditions, or other influences, and they will always strike for a reason—logical or not.
It’s very likely that there is a reason you’re crying, but you don’t know what it is. Many things can cause what seems like spontaneous bouts of crying, such as being stressed or overwhelmed, depressed, or anxious.
I Cry for No Reason Sometimes: Am I Normal?
It’s normal to cry for no reason. However, tears almost always signal that there is something wrong, whether we’re consciously aware of the reason or not.
Pervasive stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout don’t feel very good. To avoid experiencing them, our brains are sometimes inclined to push these feelings down or ignore them. However, feelings have a way of working their way to the surface, and once they do, you might find yourself crying unexpectedly. Crying randomly or crying for what seems like no reason can be a common sign that your feelings need to be released and is a perfectly normal experience.
Can Someone Cry Without Reason?
It’s rare to cry without any reason at all, even when you feel like you are crying for no reason. There is often an underlying cause for your tears. For example, you might be experiencing hormonal changes that are causing random crying, or you might be processing feelings you’ve been pushing down.
Pushing emotions down or declining to process them can be a conscious action—most people have done it at some point, perhaps when in public or around people—but it can also be subconscious. When those feelings sit around in the subconscious, they build up until they’re taking up too much space or energy and finally burst out. This can happen when you least expect it, and the rush of emotion can make you suddenly feel sad or like you are crying for no reason. There is a reason behind your crying, however, even though it may not be apparent.
What Causes Random Crying?
When we experience strong emotions, our bodies react, and both the situation and the physical response are stored in the amygdala—the brain’s center for processing strong emotions. New situations that are related, either directly or indirectly, to the previous emotional experience, can trigger our bodies to draw on that stored experience and respond in a similar way.
This means that a strong emotional experience can resurface in other situations, even if they aren’t identical to your original experience, potentially causing an unexpected emotional response like crying.
What Is Crying for No Reason a Symptom of?
Feelings have a way of working their way to the surface, and whether you know they’ve been hiding down deep or not, crying randomly or “for no reason” is a common sign that they need to be released. There are a variety of feelings, issues, or conditions that could be making you cry. Many of these can be small issues that build over time, causing them to sneak up on you. Here are some examples of feelings and conditions that random crying could be a symptoms of:
- Stress or feeling overwhelmed
Stress is a common part of life and is often ignored, either in favor of productivity or because it feels too overwhelming to address. However, stress will continue to build until it’s released, and excessive or intense stress can even contribute to health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease.
Because stress can build slowly, you may not be aware of the amount of stress and pressure you feel. Crying is one way to release stress, so if you find yourself crying out of nowhere, your stress levels may be too high for your body or mind to handle. It could also be a sign that the stress you’re under has caused you to become burnt out, meaning your mental and emotional capacities are at their limit and in desperate need of a reprieve.
If you think stress may be the culprit of your random crying, take a moment to assess your situation and identify the specific cause of your stress. This can help you bring awareness to your feelings and address the source of your stress head on.
- Depression
As pervasive as depression is, it can certainly cause you to cry at random times and without an obvious reason. Depression often develops gradually, and with so many potential causes, you may be depressed without knowing it. Even seasonal changes, like the transition from summer to fall or fall to winter, can trigger seasonal affective disorder, also known as seasonal depression.
Depression can make you feel empty, hopeless, tired, and persistently sad. Any one of these alone—or all of them combined—can be enough to make someone cry unexpectedly. If you think you’re depressed, the best thing to do is to contact a mental health professional. They can help you learn to manage your emotions and work with you to start feeling better.
- Fatigue
We all get fatigued from time to time, whether it’s due to lack of sleep, overworking, or any number of other reasons. Bodies need rest, and when they don’t get it in sufficient amounts, it can cause us to feel overly irritable, frustrated, angry, or sad—all of which can be tear-jerking emotions. The emotions we experience while fatigued can seem irrational, and could certainly make it look or feel like you’re crying unnecessarily or for no reason.
- Anxiety
Since anxiety can trigger feelings like a sense of impending doom, danger, or overwhelming worry or nervousness, random crying may also be a symptom of anxiety.
Anxiety can manifest as a disorder or as an anxious disposition. If your anxiety is causing you to cry randomly often, it could be a sign that you may be struggling to cope with your anxiety symptoms on your own and could benefit from the help of a licensed mental health professional.
- Grief and loss
Grief, of course, is a terrible, tragic feeling and a common cause of tears. While it’s often an obvious reason for crying, feelings of loss can also cause crying when you don’t expect it. Grief is often a nonlinear process, and the associated sadness can strike at random. Some people may not process their loss immediately, leading to delayed grieving.
Everyone processes grief differently: For some, the initial shock is too intense or overwhelming to let the sadness in right away, while others may cope through deflection or distraction. In either case, grief may surface later, causing random moments of crying and sadness.
It’s impossible to control or consistently predict when or how your loss will affect you. Environmental triggers–like seeing, hearing, or smelling something that reminds you of the person you lost–can also contribute to sudden tears. Whatever the case, give yourself grace and remember that grief is unpredictable, and processing is a day-to-day challenge. Talking to a therapist or psychiatrist can also help you deal with your feelings and provide tools to use when your grief feels overwhelming.
- Premenstrual syndrome
For people with uteruses, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common cause of or contributor to crying at random. Periods can leave you feeling bloated, tired, and, for some, in near-constant pain. Additionally, fluctuation hormones like estrogen and progesterone can cause mood swings and. In severe cases, like for those diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, symptoms such as depression, anxiety, or irritability can become disruptive to daily life.
This means that PMS can amplify the emotional impact of small things, bringing about crying fits for little to no reason.
- Pregnancy
During and after pregnancy, hormonal changes can affect emotions, which can cause you to cry more than you normally would or at random times. Many new mothers may feel sad and empty a few days after childbirth, and if these feelings last more than two weeks, it might indicate postpartum depression. Other signs of postpartum depression include a persistent low mood, lack of energy, sleep and memory problems and difficulty bonding with the baby. If you or someone you love is struggling postpartum, seek help from a mental health professional.
- Pseudobulbar affect
Though you may not have heard of it before, there is a condition that causes sudden instances of crying or laughing at inappropriate times. Pseudobulbar affect is usually caused by injuries or conditions within the neurological system and impacts how the brain expresses and controls emotions.
Since the reaction is uncontrollable and may be happening at an inappropriate or unreasonable time, it may seem like you’re crying for no reason at all.
Pay attention to the patterns that lead up to you crying. By noticing what you feel in the lead up to crying, you might be able to pinpoint the reason.
Is Random Crying Anxiety?
It can be. As explained above, anxiety can bring about feelings of fear, doom, and worry, all of which can cause someone to cry. If you think you may have an anxiety disorder or you’re concerned about how often these random crying bouts are happening to you, consult a mental health professional.
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Why Do I Cry at Night for No Reason At All?
Most of the time, the reasons for crying at night would be nearly the same as any that could cause you to cry during the day. Conditions like anxiety, depression, or burnout can all cause bouts of crying at night for seemingly no reason.
However, nighttime can mean alone time for many people, which may leave room for thoughts to rise up that had been pushed under the surface due to the busyness of the day. It can be a time for contemplation, especially when alone, with nothing to distract from your thoughts.
Why Am I Crying For No Reason When I’m Sick?
Sickness is a stressful and exhausting occurrence, which can take a toll on your mental health just as your physical health struggles. You may also feel isolated if you live alone or are forced to quarantine, which can affect your mental health.
Social interaction and human connection are a vital part of life, so being cut off from that can cause you to feel distressed and sad. Altogether, these ingredients can certainly cause you to cry while you’re sick.
4 Ways to Help You Stop Crying for No Reason
If these crying bouts happen infrequently, they may be simply a release of emotion. It’s completely normal to need to let your emotions out, and crying can actually be a method of self-soothing. However, if they happen more often than you think is normal—or even if they don’t—it would be best to discover the reason behind them. Here are a few tips to help you stop crying for no reason.
- Work with a therapist. One of the best ways to help keep yourself from crying at random, as well as figure out what’s causing it, is therapy. Talking to a therapist or psychiatrist can give you an extra outlet for your emotions and a professional can give you the tools and guidance to figure out what’s behind these emotions. Once the issue is identified, they can then help you work through your emotions in order to live a healthier and happier life.
- Practice Mindfulness. Mindfulness practices can be done alongside therapy to help with random crying. This might involve a meditative practice, journaling, or simply checking in with yourself and your mental state.
- Identify the feelings you experience when you cry. Identify any pressing emotions by backtracking when you’re upset and putting names to the emotions you feel. This can also help you identify them early, before they cause you to cry out of nowhere.
- Find methods to relax your body. Yoga, journaling, exercise, or other tactics can be used to relax the mind and body.
The Bottom Line
Whether mindfulness, therapy, or another avenue suits you best, crying is similar to an alarm bell. It may happen at random or in confusing situations, but there is more often than not a reason behind your tears. Finding it and addressing it is the best way to help yourself.
