01/02/2026
In 1994, researchers at the Karolinska institute studies psychological mechanics of crying. They discovered that tear release is controlled by the Parasympathetic Nervous System, the branch responsible for rest, digestion, and collapse states. Crying is a Ventral Vagal response. It requires a state of vulnerability.
So, if you were brought up in a household who thought vulnerability was weakness then you subconsciously would have shut down the parasympathetic response. The Sympathetic Nervous System (fight or flight) inhibits the lacrimal glands to prevent you from entering a vulnerable state.
The teras are there, the grief is there. But the dam will not open because your body is still in defence mode.
Try out our February Nervous System Reset Challenge.
