Mascara, Crying, and Therapy?

I haven't cried yet in therapy. But, I suspect I will. (I'm a bit of a crier at home - things on TV, music, commercials, random sad thoughts all tend to make me tear up.)

At the risk of sounding completely ridiculous, do you purposefully wear water-proof mascara to therapy?

I don't wear water-proof mascara normally - I hate the chemicals and the scrubbing to get it off (I've only tried it once, maybe I just don't know what I'm doing, I'm not good with makeup!)

I'm a little worried that my discomfort at possibly bursting into tears is going to be quadrupled by realizing that I will probably look like a crazed raccoon, with dark streaks down my face! I think that will make it worse.

Just curious... anyone else think about this? I realize in the grand scheme of things I should be spending energy worrying about, this probably is something like number 12,792 but still...

I do, I expend energy on this nonsensical stuff lol I would hate having a mascara face and I'm aware of it since I'm a huge crier. Though not in therapy

Thanks JaneTennison1.... any hints on getting the darn stuff off later in the day? The one time I tried... it seemed like such an incredible pain!

I don't think it's worth it to worry about, IMO. But maybe you could skip the mascara on therapy days and just use eye liner?

I don't wear mascara at all.

Thanks HazelGirl... I had thought about that, but I'm super pale... my eyelashes are basically invisible without mascara ! I wish I could get by without it, but I look really weird without it... *sigh*.

I guess the good news is that at least I go home right after (usually working from home). I'll just be sure to not plan any work meetings in-person after...

I generally wear waterproof mascara anyway, but I don't make a conscious effort to plan out whether to wear waterproof or non-waterproof mascara on therapy days. I sort of just grab whichever one is closest to me at the time and put it on. I've cried a number of times in therapy, and I always joke about "raccooning" in front of her, but she doesn't mind. If I've been going through a rough time and feel like I'll be on the verge of tears in therapy, I throw my emergency makeup kit into my purse so I can fix myself up in the bathrooms after my session.

I don't wear makeup to therapy. Not so much because if the crying aspect - I rarely cry, but I rub my face a lot... I tend not to wear makeup unless I'm 'doing' something anyway, so no big deal to me.

Hello
Maybe when you start crying dab at your eyes. Once the tears start try not to blink too much until you get the tears off. Just keep dabbing your eyes. Also keep make-up remover clothes in your purse or car. When I was in therapy I always had the same fear (though I never cried).

Pale person high fives! I like to look ok, it helps me feel ok.

I only ever wear eye liner, and I always try to pick the waterproof one or the long-wear one... it's literally the only make-up I wear because I break out from most anything else, or it makes me really itchy. I have no tips on getting it off afterwards though, sorry.

Right after my first session I went and bought waterproof mascara! My T would find that funny because I have yet to cry in a session. As for how to get that stuff off... neutrogena makeup remover whips work WONDERS! I'm telling you, that stuff is magic.

You could try different mascaras, maybe read some reviews online. They vary in their staying power, even those that aren't specifically designed to be waterproof. I'm not a frequent crier in therapy, but it's happened a few times and my Almay Intense i-color mascara pretty much stayed where it was. I've recently bought a different brand, but this new one is supposed to be "zero smudge" so we'll see.

I wonder, too, if it's all the wiping and dabbing the eyes that causes the smudging, and there wouldn't be as much if you just let the tears flow. The handful of times I've cried there, it's been what this blogger calls "commando" style (I don't mind crying that much there, but I have some weirdness about taking her tissues) and no mascara issues. Then again, it may be the mascara brand...

If you cry often alone at home, I guess you have plenty of opportunity to test these factors in private.

This is not a trivial question to me. Its like, if i cant wear mascara because im going to be crying, why should i bother anything with how i look? I guess i take it to extremes. Is there something more severe than just black and white thinking?

I don't wear any makeup in therapy anymore. It's not like I cry all the time, but I do rub my face a lot due to anxiety.

I used to always wear waterproofed mascara on therapy days just in case i cried

When I first started therapy I cried a lot more, so I stopped wearing mascara, to prevent the raccoon-eyes look. Then, months later, I became unable to cry even when I wished I could, so I actually started wearing mascara again thinking that somehow it would jinx me into crying, ha! Didn't work . Waterproof mascara isn't an option for me due to sensitivity to something in it (makes my eyes sting).

I like this girly topic , thanks guilloche

Oh wow! Thanks for all the ideas and thoughts!

Ad Intra - thanks for the idea of dabbing! I could try that... but I think maybe my mascara just sucks, now that I've read the other comments. It actually smudges pretty badly sometimes at the chiropractor, where I am not crying. And, I'm sure I've left smudges at the massage therapist (tears of pain, lol!). I notice that it hasn't been in stock recently at the stores, so maybe the universe is "encouraging" me to change brands

JaneTennison1 - HighFive back at ya! Ah, the shared pain of invisible eyelashes!

BrokenWarrior - Thanks for the tip about Neutrogena! I'll check it out!

Xenon - ooh! Thanks for the idea... that's a good idea, and it looks like my normal mascara is disappearing anyhow. Maybe I can find something a little bit less prone to running down my face, but not full-on permanent. Fingers crossed! Nice article too... I like that blog, but I seemed to have missed this one!

Hankster - Aww! I don't know that I think "why should I bother with how I look" (um maybe a little)... but more that... I think I've got some issues around looks. I feel pretty hideous looking, especially without makeup I sometimes DO run around with no makeup (rebel that I am!) but I don't think I'd want to show up to T like that! *hmmm* Interesting. I think I don't want T to see my "worst me". Well, shoot! (Thanks!)

Musial - Glad you like the topic! And, thanks... but youch, I'm sorry that you're not able to cry these days! That must be frustrating!

Thanks. It looks like I'm going to be mascara-shopping in the near-future. I don't love makeup, so this doesn't really thrill me, but maybe I'll find something that doesn't leave smudges every time I think about tearing up

Thanks!

I too have thin blonde eye lashes that can barely be seen. But I usually don't wear mascara. I hate taking it off.

I found another weird occurrence in my session. When I drive, I wear my glasses (sometimes my fiance drives). When I wear my glasses to therapy, for some reason those are the sessions I always cry during. I hate crying while wearing glasses! I told my T I'm going to stop driving so hopefully I'll stop crying...lol.

ScarletPimpernel - I hate taking off mascara too, even the non-waterproof kind. I always seem to end up with little specks floating around my eye (yuck!!!). There has GOT to be a better way!

Interesting about the glasses and crying! I wonder what's going on there for you? I wear glasses for driving too - but I leave them in the car (I'm near-sighted). Poor T was trying to show me something he wrote on a piece of paper, but was too far away... so I was squinting and finally told him that I had no idea what he wrote! Ha - and now I can't even remember. I remember him being sort of adamant about it though and me getting frustrated because I couldn't figure out the squiggles from where I was sitting.

For me, as long as I don't touch my makeup my mascara is fine. And my stuff is cheap. It has even rained hard before and my eyes looked fine. As long as I don't rub my eyes, things tend to stay put--except my eyeliner travels some.

I hate waterproof mascara--so no way would I use it!

I do use a light coat of mascara, normally that is my only day-to-day makeup because I feel naked without it. One coat doesn't give me raccoon eyes, but last time I cried heavily in session, I had a semi-permanent dark grey tear streak going down my cheek but didn't realize until after I left.

I have blonde eyelashes, so I wear mascara to every thing .... EXCEPT therapy. One session of black all down my face while crying was one too many. I play up my eyebrows and wear eye liner, but no mascara to therapy.

Also, I curl my eyelashes up to at least add some definition.

I need makeup because I am ugly without it, but I tone it down in therapy. Nothing to smear!

You could get your eyelashes dyed darker so that you wouldn't need mascara, it's pretty cheap to have done.

I wear loads of mascara for the same reasons as you, really fair lashes. I always wear waterproof stuff. Only once has it ran and trust me, I have cried a lot. I tend to dab just under my eyes or the corners and it seems fine.

You can take off waterproof eye makeup with baby lotion. It will side right off. I chose not to wear make-up ever, but understand that is my path.