CBS News
Why do we feel better after a “good cry”? An expert explains the science behind it.
Why do we weep? There are actually some good reasons for it — and an explanation for why a little blubbering can make us feel better.
On “CBS Mornings Plus” Wednesday, Dr. Gail Saltz, an associate professor of psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of Medicine, shared there are actually different types of tears, which serve different purposes.
Some tears cleanse your eyes and keep them moist.
“Those are ophthalmological issues, and they’re very different from emotional tears — social-emotional tears — which can be related to sadness, stress, anxiety, but also overwhelming joy, something that’s poignant.”
Those social-emotional tears, she said, “have to do with deep brain structure, emotional intensity and subsequently this release of tears, and they contain different compounds like stress hormones, like cortisol and endorphins.”
These types of tears are helpful because they provide an emotional release — what some refer to as “a good cry.”
“Those risen hormones that make you so stressed and so upset, they decrease after the cry, so you actually feel better,” Saltz said.
Crying also serves an evolutionary purpose.
“It signals to others around us that we’re feeling vulnerable, that we’re having a very difficult time, and it helps bring those people to us, to support us, hopefully, to let them know that we need help,” she said.
Kids crying
Parents know kids can seemingly cry over nothing, but Saltz said there’s good reason not to shut down children’s tears immediately.
“Children have not yet been signaled that crying is not OK, and that’s a good thing, because they are able to release their emotions and they’re able to experience them and talk about them afterwards. That’s healthy,” she said. “What’s not healthy is, we as a society, shaming people for crying — especially boys, which then they shut down and try to hide and not experience their emotions or be in touch with them, and later that comes out as anger, alcohol use, all kinds of problems. So it’s good to be able to cry.”
You want to strike a balance with kids, Saltz said, not punishing or rewarding them for crying.
“We have a tendency and empathy to want to rush in and stop someone from crying because it makes us feel bad. That’s not the best,” she said. “You want to let them cry, sit with them (and say), ‘I understand you’re having a hard time. I understand this is a struggle. And then afterwards, try to use your words to explain what was going on and how I can help you.'”
How to stop crying
Even though tears aren’t the enemy, sometimes it’s not ideal to cry in certain settings. Saltz said some grounding exercises can help, including:
- Distracting yourself with an intense feeling like biting the inside of your cheek or pressing on this webbing between your fingers
- Looking up to help prevent tearing
- Distracting yourself by counting backward from 100 in your head
- Excusing yourself to go have your cry elsewhere
“Go in the bathroom, have your cry, you will feel better, or compose yourself (and) go back out,” Saltz said.
An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing at LAX after blowing out a tire during its takeoff at Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C.
The aircraft landed at LAX at about 8:10 p.m. without incident. First responders were standing by on the runway as a precaution.
Out of the 175 passengers and six crew members aboard Flight 309, no one was injured.
“While this incident is a rare occurrence, our flight crews train extensively to safely manage through many scenarios,” the airliner stated.
Alaska stated that the pilot declared the emergency landing as a precaution to ensure the flight had extra support if needed.
The company said it would investigate what caused the Boeing 737-900 to malfunction. The aircraft will not be in service during the investigation.
CBS News
German soccer club St. Pauli quits X ahead of snap elections, calls platform a “hate machine”
A German soccer club is leaving X because of the increase in hate speech and disinformation on the social media platform that it claims could undermine the snap elections in the country.
FC St. Pauli announced the decision on Thursday, saying billionaire owner Elon Musk has turned the platform into a “hate machine” since he took over the company in 2022.
“Racism and conspiracy theories are allowed to spread unchecked and even curated,” St. Pauli said in a statement. “Insults and threats are seldom sanctioned and are sold as freedom of speech.”
The club said it had already limited posts on X and increased “political statements in support of diversity and inclusion to make a stand against hate.”
Selim Sudheimer / Getty Images
Named after Hamburg’s St. Pauli district, the club, which plays in the Bundesliga, is known among soccer fans for its left-leaning supporter base. Fan groups often chant anti-racist slogans and promote diversity within the club.
St. Pauli also underlined Musk’s role in last week’s U.S. presidential election, and alleged his platform could affect the outcome of the snap elections in Germany, which are scheduled to take place next February, by “manipulating the public discourse.”
“Musk was a major backer of the Trump campaign and also used X for this purpose,” the club said. “It is to be assumed that X will also promote authoritarian, misanthropic and far-right content during the forthcoming German election campaign.”
St. Pauli said it would no longer share content on X but it will not deactivate the account. The club urged supporters to follow its updates on Bluesky, an alternative social media platform that has observed a surge of new members after President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory last week.
Musk was a key figure in Trump’s third election campaign, donating millions of dollars and promoting content for his message on X. Trump announced this week that he will be part of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency alongside fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who sought the Republican Party’s nomination.
On Nov. 6, the German coalition government collapsed after Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed the finance minister, who represented the pro-business Free Democratic Party. The chancellor will seek a vote of confidence at the German Bundestag in December.
St. Pauli aims to migrate its nearly 250,000 followers ahead of February’s snap elections in Germany in which the center-right opposition Christian Democratic Union is expected to make significant gains.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party has also gained popularity. With 76 seats, it is the fifth largest party in the Bundestag. In September’s Thuringian state election, the AfD became the first far-right party in Germany to have won an election since World War II.
CBS News
Trump meets with Argentina’s president, the first foreign leader he’s met with since election
Donald Trump met Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago club with Argentine President Javier Milei, the first foreign leader to meet with the president-elect since his victory in last week’s election.
The meeting was confirmed by a person who insisted on anonymity to discuss an event that hadn’t yet been announced publicly. The person said the meeting went well and said Milei also met with investors.
A short time later, Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” and frequent recipient of Trump praise, addressed the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-a-Lago. He slammed left-wing ideologies and saluted Elon Musk, the owner of X, saying his social media site is helping to “save humanity.”
Trump also spoke to the gala crowd, congratulating Milei “for the job you’ve done for Argentina” and saying it was an “honor” to have Argentina’s president at Mar-a-Lago.
“The job you’ve done is incredible. Make Argentina Great Again, you know, MAGA. He’s a MAGA person,” Trump said to applause. “And you know, he’s doing that.”
Shortly after Milei’s election in November 2023, Trump posted on social media, “You will turn your country around and truly Make Argentina Great Again!”
Milei first met Trump in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, in the Washington area. He has openly declared his admiration for Trump and when he saw him, he rushed to him screaming “president!” and gave him a close hug before they posed for pictures.
The Argentine president is known for his eccentric personality and first made a name for himself by shouting against Argentina’s “political caste” on television. The right-wing populist campaigned with a chainsaw as his prop to symbolize his plans to slash public spending and scrap government ministries.
