Is it a bad thing?

Is it a bad thing to cry? My dad yes it is bad to cry because people will think you are not strong or will walk all over you. What do you guys think about crying?

Crying is good for you and it releases your emotions and it is supposed to be healthy too. I don't see it as being bad for you at all.

Crying is good for releasing emotional tension, and like BC said, good for you. Can you imagine what would happen if you bottled up EVERY single time you felt like crying? There comes a point when there's just no more space, and then what happens if you 'explode' or 'implode' as a result? I assure you, it's N0T pretty. Besides, who has to know you're crying? What people? You can cry in private, most do. I'm a cryer, the people who know me knows it, but they also know that I'm nobody's doormat.
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Crying=good

Yeah, it's good to have a good old cry now and again, but what I discovered is that although it can release pent up negative emotions, if you allow it to go on for too long and let the tears flow too frequently, sometimes it can be difficult to turn them off.

Everything in moderation, including the water-works.

Crying is normal and necessary. Is your dad maybe talking about "inappropriate" crying, like if someone bumped into you accidentally and you burst into tears? When we feel sadness or loss intensely enough tears can be the expression of those emotions, the acknowledgment and release of them, rather than keeping them bottled up inside. If your dad thinks that you cry over unimportant things, that might be worth looking into. If you cry over any little thing, then there are other things going on. But if you cry over the sadnesses in life like the loss of a friend or pet, that's nothing to be ashamed of. Some of the most unhappy people I've known are the ones who aren't able to cry.

In my life crying has been freeing and healing. I am a guy, and like most guys was taught to not cry. I still don't cry much, but when I do I am eventually grateful for it. Especially on meds I notice I cry even less.... But all in all, I think crying when appropriate is healthy and shows strength more than weakness...

Nothing wrong with that, then stick your tongue out and laugh about it.

Emotions are there for a reason, use them or lose them. Take care!

I think crying is good. It doesnt make you weaker, but it can make you stronger. There is even a concept called lachrymology or some such that believe crying can be its own sort of therapy.

It takes a real man to cry IMO, It doesn't mean that they are weak, It shows they are real and that they care, Who says a man can't cry? My husband cries when he see's me upset and going through trauma, It shows he cares, He has cried when something bad has happened it doesn't mean that he is weak.

i think it takes a braver, stronger person to admit they need to cry. it's only human. keeping it all locked inside isn't natural or healthy imo.

Aye, it's like an emotional safety valve with me, it all builds up to a point where it all comes out.. and I'd rather blub like a girl (as it were) than start beating on people!

Personally, I hate crying. It makes me feel like I've just pissed my pants when I cry, so I refrain from doing it. It doesn't bother me when other people do it, but it does confuse me.

I've always thought crying, especially in a guy, was a sign of weakness. I'm kind of a macho man's man kind of guy, retired firefighter/paramedic, been there, seen it all, etc. Then I hit my current crash from a manic high to a severe depression because of an emotional disaster, and I've had to start rethinking things. I've cried every day for over a week, and can't even talk about what happened without bursting into tears. As much as I hate to admit it, I think all the crying has been somewhat good for me. I'm embarrassed by it, but I feel like it's letting some of the poison out. Maybe it's not such a bad thing after all.

People who are inclined to walk all over other people will do so -- or attempt to do so -- regardless. I wouldn't want my surgeon to be crying in sympathy while he was trying to remove my brain tumor, but I would not find it strange if my boss cried while telling us our coworker passed away suddenly. So it's when and why you cry that matters, not that you cry. Crying is a normal behavior for human beings, but it can be taken to excess. I will say this, and you can pass this along to your father: my father never showing any emotion except annoyance at me led me to believe my father didn't love me. I still think that.

I am working on crying in a good way.

I still have an idea that goes thru my brain: "Oh, you're just trying to get attention." even in private!

Also, in my life, crying often meant that I was going to be locked up. (was in a mental health system most of my life until around 2009)

I get scared that my roommate might get upset.

I just plain don't like being vulnerable.

So I really appreciate this thread to remind me that crying is sometimes okay.

It is hard for me to know what's appropriate, esp. when I've been told crying was "inappropriate" even in a therapy setting.

When my aunt died, I did not cry. But I was very upset and no one in treatment ever really encouraged me to express how it felt. They did not seem to have the room or the patience or the time to let me.

In a grief group (in the mental health system) they even told me to smile and act happy and as though I were managing my grief properly and "not allowing it to get to me"!

As a result, I left them.

I think finding a safe place or a safe person to cry can help us cry and process our feelings without being shamed or guilt-baited, or being locked up.

thanks,

Billi