[August7682]

I know this may sound kinda weird, but I get really insecure about the fact that I cry way more than other people, and I can cry very easily. The reason I am wondering is because I am an actress, and when I get a script that requires me to get "teary eyed" I end up with like 7 tears streaming down my face.
I cry watching just about any movie or TV show, and I cry in front of other people almost too much. Is this normal? I'm not suffering from depression, and most of the time when I cry it's because I feel bad for someone else, or because something is "sweet" or makes me really happy. Is this a form of a highly sensitive person? I feel like some people judge me for crying about stupid things, but then again maybe I just judge myself.

[smartiesparty]

Yes, some people are just more sensitive than others ! And if it does not really cause you problems, it's good. It may even be an advantage as you are an actress.

Nothing is wrong

[Thunder Bow]

Fits well with your profession, a good actress always has her feelings on her sleve. Those who judge are ignorant.

[CopperStar]

Nothing wrong with it if it's not disturbing you, personally.

Some people might be startled by it or feel uncomfortable, because some people associate crying only with severe emotional or physical pain, so they might perceive your crying the same way they would perceive your screaming in pain. Reassuring startled people that you are fine, you just cry easily, should be good enough.

Then some people might associate crying with manipulation, and feel like you are trying to manipulate their emotions. However these people need to learn proper psychological boundaries and how to be logically indifferent to perceived manipulation attempts, rather than getting angry about it. So in that case it is not your problem.

[continuosly blue]

Hi August , I'm a guy who naturally has a hard time talking about this because of social norms , but your post makes me want to share this. Now this is for me only , I don't know if it is the same as your situation.

I've always considered myself to be overly emotional , no matter what the emotion is. I have to be very conscious of this in public. I can cry at the tip of a hat. I'll start crying about something that most people would maybe just feel sad about. I did this for many years but then I kind of ran out of tears. I just stopped feeling like crying for awhile. Then it started again recently.

I have been thru a lot of trauma during my life. I believe in Carl Jungs theory of the Anima and Animus. We are born with both male and female traits in us. Particular genetics and mostly , I think , societal norms define our individual traits. Sometimes my feminine side will prevail other times my masculinity. And both can be intense.

This has caused me a lot of problems during my life. Even now at 60 I find it hard to control. When you can't control your emotional response you can be labeled many things. In my case it's BPD. Whether or not that's correct or not I don't know. The thing is no matter how much therapy I've been through I'm still the same. So at this point I've just tried to be more conscious of it and control it as much as possible.

In your case , well I've always wondered how actors can just make the tears flow on a dime but I would think that if you cry a lot off the set , there may be something more to this than you think.

Best to you

[IceCreamKid]

There is a lot of good information in this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudobulbar_affect

I'm of the opinion once I find out that there is no bad (and hopefully treatable) cause to something like this--shrug off the judgment and you'll likely be less bothered by it.

It's worth mentioning to your doctor.

[August7682]

Thanks to everyone who replied - I feel better about it now.