The healing effects of crying

Psychiatrists' Illustration of Awe in Empathic Listening Assessments: A Pilot Study

Background "Awe" is typically an inspiring emotional response to perceptually vast stimuli signifying the transcendence beyond all cognitive frames of reference when we encounter the unexpected. Physicians' experience of awe in clinical care interactions has not been studied in an empirical, evidence-based way. We aim to present a focused study of awe in a psychiatrist's empathic listening (EL) assessments and propose an evidence-based framework to study it. Methodology This is an exploratory case series of a psychiatrist's EL interactions (mean duration/x̄ of 46.17 minutes) with six patients (two males and four females) aged 32-72 years (x̄ =54.67, σ = 16.64). Using the method of autoethnography, the verbal and nonverbal aspects of the EL assessments were analyzed and open-coded to generate qualitative data. Results The study revealed that the data in all the case studies could be classed into two thematic groups, namely, mindfulness and transpersonal mindfulness. The emotions of "awe" and "non-agency" were ubiquitous in all six case studies both for the psychiatrist and patients. Conclusions Recognizing the awe and non-agency in EL interaction is essential in conceptualizing the "mindfulness-to-transcendence" framework and the first step toward the evidence-based study of transcendence/metaphysics in phenomenological psychiatry.

Crying Therapy Intervention for Breast Cancer Survivors: Development and Effects

BACKGROUND

crying therapy is currently being applied in some countries to treat cancer patients, manage pain, and promote mental health. However, little nursing and medical research on the effects of crying therapy has been conducted in other parts of the world. This study aimed to develop a crying therapy program for breast cancer survivors and assess its effects. Interventions/method: data from 27 breast cancer survivors in South Korea were analyzed. The intervention, employing a single group, pre-post-test quasi-experimental design, was divided into three phases, and effects were verified for emotional (distress, fatigue, and mood conditions) and physiological (cortisol, immunoglobulin G, and blood pressure) variables.

RESULTS

there were significant changes in distress, mood changes, and immunoglobulin G and smaller changes in blood pressure postintervention. Fatigue and cortisol showed no significant changes.

CONCLUSIONS

this study demonstrated the effectiveness of a short-term crying therapy program that can induce positive emotional changes and physiological effects in breast cancer survivors. This intervention can improve quality of life, indicating its value as a self-care program for cancer survivors.

Healing the Grieving Heart: A Journey Toward Wholeness

We are usually drawn to what we love and need. This article describes how the author’s life experiences and her participation in grief counseling helped her find a calling helping others on their journey through the grief process, toward healing.

How to support patients who are crying in palliative home care: an interview study from the nurses’ perspective

Aim

The aim of this study was to explore how nurses can support patients who are crying in a palliative home care context.

Background

In palliative care the nurse has a central role in the team whose duty it is to create a sense of security and trust, as well as to give comfort and support the patients. The nurse’s responsibility is to identify different needs of the patients for support and develop a relationship with them. Patients may express their pain, anxiety, fear and suffering by crying. No studies have been found which focus on how nurses can support patients who are crying in different ways and crying for different reasons.

Methods

A qualitative explorative study was performed. Semi-structured interviews were held with eight nurses aged 32–63 years (Median 40) working in Swedish palliative home care. The data were analysed using Qualitative Content analysis.

Findings

It was reported that the nurse should meet and confirm the patient during different types of crying episodes and should also be able to alternate between being close and physically touching the in such close contact with the patients, the nurse can provide emotional support by showing empathy, merely being present and letting the patients cry as much as they want. When the crying finally stops, the nurse can support the person by speaking with them, showing sensitivity, humility and respect for the patient’s wishes. A few examples of the patients’ need for information or practical support emerged. The nurse can emotionally support the person who is crying by just being present, confirming, showing empathy, offering a chance to talk and showing respect for their individual needs and the different ways they may cry.

Evolution of genetic and genomic features unique to the human lineage

Given the unprecedented tools that are now available for rapidly comparing genomes, the identification and study of genetic and genomic changes that are unique to our species have accelerated, and we are entering a golden age of human evolutionary genomics. Here we provide an overview of these efforts, highlighting important recent discoveries, examples of the different types of human-specific genomic and genetic changes identified, and salient trends, such as the localization of evolutionary adaptive changes to complex loci that are highly enriched for disease associations. Finally, we discuss the remaining challenges, such as the incomplete nature of current genome sequence assemblies and difficulties in linking human-specific genomic changes to human-specific phenotypic traits.

Exploring the concept of manliness in relation to the phenomenon of crying: a Bourdieusian approach

The concept of manliness related to the phenomenon of crying can be better understood by tracing the roots of the language of manliness through history. A Bourdieusian theoretical approach is used, incorporating the analytics of habitus, bodily hexis, and symbolic violence. This less-studied phenomenon of crying is investigated from a holistic, biopsychosocial framework. Manliness is a social construct that has remained surprisingly consistent throughout history. The importance of this concept to physical, psychological, and social health and well-being is addressed from a holistic nursing perspective. This is a timely issue for men's mental health, for example, that of returning combat veterans experiencing loss, grief, and posttraumatic stress. This exploration provides insight for nursing by analyzing the concept of manliness, which stems largely from militaristic roots, and might present obstacles to emotional release.

Crying That Heals

Although much has been written about the healing power of tears, the research into this phenomenon has been fragmented, uncoordinated, and inconclusive. Nonetheless, a substantial amount of the literature across multiple disciplines has addressed the subject, both directly and indirectly. In this article, the authors submit crying that heals (CTH) as a concept of possible significance to health care and evaluate CTH using the criteria for concept evaluation proposed by Morse, Mitcham, Hupcey, and Tasón (1996) . Using these criteria, CTH is tentatively defined, and its characteristics, boundaries, preconditions, and outcomes are proposed and examined in the context of this definition. Suggestions for additional analysis and research are offered, and the potential importance of CTH to health care professions, especially nursing, is discussed.

Crying as a gendered indicator of depression

Crying is a gendered activity; women in the general population are known to cry more than men. However, crying is also used as a sign of depression. Its use may explain some of the discrepancy in rates of depression in men and women. We suggest that crying is an invalid indicator because of its gendered status and should be removed from the diagnostic criteria for depression. Men may show other symptoms when depressed more than women, such as aggression and irritability. The inclusion of crying items in depression instruments may therefore introduce a gender bias in the assessment of depression.

Crying: A force to balance emotions among cancer patients in palliative home care

Objective: Crying is a common but seldom studied phenomenon in palliative care. The aim of this study was to explore the significance of patients crying in a palliative care context.

Methods: Tape-recorded interviews with 14 cancer patients in palliative home care were carried out. To gain deeper understanding, a hermeneutic analysis and interpretation was used.

Results: Crying was described in different dimensions: (1) intense and despondent crying as a way of ventilating urgent needs, (2) gentle, sorrowful crying as a conscious release of emotions, and (3) quiet, tearless crying as a protection strategy. Crying seems to be an expression for an inner emotional force, provoked by different factors, which cause changes in the present balance. To cry openly but also to cry on the inside meant being able to achieve or maintain balance. Crying may be something useful, which could create release and help reduce tension, but it may also have a negative impact as it consumes energy and creates feelings of shame.

Significance of results: Professionals need to understand the different levels of crying. In such situations sometimes comforting the patient may not be the best solution, as some may need privacy.

My battle with spasmodic torticollis: a healing experience

The life-transforming experience of overcoming spasmodic torticollis compelled the author to write the following personal account. The author, who triumphed over this debilitating disease, is now an advocate of holistic nursing practices that motivate patients through a genuine concern for patient well-being, community, and humanity. The author describes her personal experience of grief and the grieving process; the healing effects of crying; and her selection of the complementary and alternative therapies of prayer, music, and massage that became instrumental in finding a pathway to recovery. The story has appealing implications for strategies that utilize these concepts and techniques in clinical practice.

Therapeutic Tears and Postpartum Blues

A qualitative study of 9 American women explored personal experiences with postpartum blues in relation to crying, breastfeeding, lactation suppression, and prior pregnancy loss. A greater understanding of postpartum rituals and cultural aspects benefits the nursing profession in order to better educate women in childbearing years.