I want to recommend a coping mechanism my sister and I invented over the last few years. We call it the "Cry-lympics".

I understand, completely. I'm a highly sensitive and emotional person and it's easy to make me cry, which is embarrassing. For example, when I used to go to church, one Sunday a family friend came up to me and said one sentence: "You miss your dad, don't you?" and I burst into tears. My dad wasn't sick, hadn't died or anything. He was a truck driver and just spent much of the week away, but it was enough as a 12 year old girl to make me bawl like a baby.

So through the years, my sis and I needed a catharsis--a way to relieve the pain and stress and built up tears without trying to get out coherent words through our blubbering. Thus, Cry-lympics was born.

Crylympics itself is a combination of the words "crying" and "olympics." Basically, it's a "contest" between the two of us to make eachother cry. It sounds really mean, but hang with me. We pick a time when we don't have any plans. Usually there is drinking involved. Then we get cozied up in front of the TV and take turns watching really emotional music videos, ultimately ending in a big cry fest all around. Between videos after wiping away our tears and laughing at our silliness, we're able to share what's really bothering us without all the emotion.

It's possible it works as a single-player game as well, just a way to relieve yourself of that pot-about-to-boil-over feeling every time someone asks if you're okay. But if you have someone you trust, I recommend giving it a try. It's silly, but it works. Sometimes silly is the best way.

Subject matter doesn't really make a difference, as long as the songs speak to you. Here's some examples that we listen to:

"The House That Built Me" Miranda Lambert
"Iris" Goo Goo Dolls
"Lay Me Down" Sam Smith
"I Never Told You" Colbie Caillat
"Hide and Seek" Imogen Heap

Anything works, these are just some songs that mean something to me and so elicit the desired emotional response.