Common steps and sub-activities
Crying
Crying according to Wikipedia is “also referred to as sobbing, weeping, bawling, or wailing” so there you go.
They also say that the act of crying has been defined as "a complex secretomotor phenomenon characterized by the shedding of tears from the lacrimal apparatus, without any irritation of the ocular structures. A neuronal connection between the lacrimal gland (tear duct) and the areas of the human brain involved with emotion has been established”
Phew heady stuff eh?
Animals can cry – other animals besides us. Elephants are known to cry. The little whale I saw in the San Diego zoo looked as if it was crying – but because it was in water you would never have known. Grief produces tears. Anger can sometimes produce tears. Terrible loneliness can produce tears.
Tears are a release mechanism, a way of controlling high Emotion and a way of calming it down. Tears are not an Emotion suppressor they are an Emotion releaser.
Arthur Koestler - Janus
Weeping is triggered by the para-sympathetic nervous system. …. it lowers the blood pressure, neutralises excesses of blood sugar, facilitates the elimination of body waste and generally tends towards quietude and catharsis – literally the ‘purging’ of tensions. ………
In weeping, the eyes are ‘blinded by tears’, they lose their focus and lustre, the features seem to crumble, even when weeping for joy or in aesthetic rapture, the transfigured face reflects a serene languidness.
A similar contrast is noticeable in bodily postures and motions. ….; the person who weeps ‘lets the head droop’ [into the hands, on the table or onto someone’s shoulder]. …..; in weeping the muscle go flabby, the shoulders slump forward, the whole posture reflects a ‘letting go’.
Observations
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