We have all heard the saying “real men don’t cry”. Society tells men that they should be strong and stoic and, as the thinking goes, crying is a sign of weakness. But the truth is that it is as inherent in the nature of men to feel and express emotions as it is for women. And crying is a natural way to express emotions.

Here are three reasons why we should all cry when we are upset.

• Any time we get away from Nature as a species, we are in trouble. Look at the animal kingdom as an example. If a male dog is upset does it keep a stiff upper lip and not cry? Of course not! It whimpers and sobs as much as a female dog would do. The same is true for other animals. It’s only us humans that have taken on this belief that the male of the species should not cry if it is upset.
• It’s actually unnatural not to cry. Science tells us that tears contain natural painkillers. Tear drops contain stress hormones, carry away toxins that build up when we feel upset and stimulate the production of teel-good chemicals called endorphins. This is why we always feel better after a good cry.
• It’s bad for us to suppress our emotions when we are upset. Emotions have a purpose and carry a message. Painful emotions point to areas of our lives thsr we need to look at and heal. Plus, suppressing emotions never makes the feelings go away. They just get buried until they are triggered again. Feelings are meant to be felt.

So if you’re a man and feel like having a good cry – do so. It’s a perfectly natural thing to do so you’re just being real. So real men do cry.