Feel like crying for no reason?

[JosephG]

Like today I was just walking to school and I felt like I was going to burst into tears and I was finding it hard to suppress the feeling. I get this a lot when walking out and about sometimes and I don't understand why. It happens more often when I am feeling low but doesn't depend on me feeling low.
It gets worse as well when I walk past people in the street because I become very aware of myself.
Anybody got any experience of this?

 

[Feathers]

check for gluten intolerance or reactions to sweets or any other food..

I was crying all the time and brainfog, now I stopped eating gluten and sweet stuff and it's much better!
some people on the forums reported similar.. you could try, for a day or a few?

What did you eat/drink before the walk/s?

 

[JosephG]

hmm I don't usually eat in the morning but I don't know much about this gluten thing.
What foods contain gluten?

and tbh I think it's probably anxiety related because it only happens when I'm left alone to think. But I guess not a lot of people here experience it which worries me a little...

 

[Pacific_Loner]

It happens to me when alone and with other people (with other people mostly when I had too much alcohol), and these days it seems to be related to food since I had to eat a lot of stuff I'm intolerant to lately. I started eating properly again (no gluten/dairies and others) and I think I'm feeling better already.

You find gluten in almost everything you are used to eat.
If you want to take that path in my opinion you really have to commit to it for it to work - Check all the ingredients of what you eat (gluten is in wheat, barley, oat, kamut....) and keep doing it for months. I only started feeling a change after maybe 3 months but it's really worth it. It is expensive to eat healthy but still cheaper than being an alcoholic smoker.

 

[Phoenixx]

hmm I don't usually eat in the morning but I don't know much about this gluten thing.
What foods contain gluten?

and tbh I think it's probably anxiety related because it only happens when I'm left alone to think. But I guess not a lot of people here experience it which worries me a little...

^ Gluten is a protein that's found in certain grains like wheat and oats. When you have a gluten allergy or intolerance, some of the emotional symptoms are like irritability, feeling depressed for what seems like no reason, anxiety, etc. I have an allergy to only wheat and besides feeling like a got hit by a truck, I get very irritable and angry a lot. Yeah, it does wonders for me.

Anyway, I think your problem is anxiety related too. I never experienced like I wanted to cry for "no reason". Mostly because whenever I do cry, there's always a reason behind it. But, if you want to be sure it's not food related, you can go ahead and follow Feathers' and Pacific's awesome advice and maybe try taking gluten out of your diet for a bit and see what happens.

 

[EscapeArtist]

check for gluten intolerance or reactions to sweets or any other food..

I was crying all the time and brainfog, now I stopped eating gluten and sweet stuff and it's much better!
some people on the forums reported similar.. you could try, for a day or a few?

What did you eat/drink before the walk/s?

Lol I was just about to say this!!
Crying for no reason is almost always a physical cause, not a mental cause. Intolerances are worth checking out, gluten and dairy=most common. Also as the feaths mentioned, sugar. If removing sugar helps then you might want to go a step further and look into candida overgrowth. Luck-good! heh
I'm glad to hear that you feel much better Feathers! yay

 

[Deus_Ex_Lemur]

Lol I was just about to say this!!
Crying for no reason is almost always a physical cause, not a mental cause. Intolerances are worth checking out, gluten and dairy=most common. Also as the feaths mentioned, sugar. If removing sugar helps then you might want to go a step further and look into candida overgrowth. Luck-good! heh
I'm glad to hear that you feel much better Feathers! yay

Agree. OR usually is a reason not thinking of. Post-traumatic stress can do this but doesnt seem you have that.

 

[Jinba~ittai]

Well, the only time I've cried regularly was when I was SEVERELY depressed ::. Then I would cry as much as I seemingly could.

 

[JosephG]

Ahh maybe I do have some allergies?
I think I have experienced this when I was a child. I specifically remember being about 11-12 and walking around feeling like this at times.
I will look further into this gluten thing thanks guys! But I'm not sure I could cut it out as my diet is pretty damn poor anyway XD
I think maybe a chat with my doctor when I next see her and my counsellor when they arrange an appointment would be cool also.

now to have some shredded wheat before school... kidding hehe

 

[LonelyWonders]

Today while I was walking to my bus. Strong feeling that almost forced it's way out. Luckily it was raining.

 

[Feathers]

Joseph, if you're hungry funny things can happen to you for no reason too!!

Look at it like that: our nerves (myelin sheath etc) are made of something - partly water, partly lipids (fatty substances), partly protein... If your body doesn't have the 'building blocks' necessary for your nerves and other system to function properly, funny things can happen!

Our bodies need food = proteins, fatty food, carbs, micronutrients like vitamins and minerals to function properly. If you don't give that to your body, hmm...?

If you are lacking magnesium or other important minerals/vitamins you can be more easily distressed too... It can also be hormonally related.. (And guess what? Hormones are made of something too!!)

It's usually a combination of factors: nutrition-related, maybe some environmental factors (like any chemicals in the air/exhaust fumes etc?) and maybe some 'hidden stress' from before (that you may not be aware of - either PTSD or stress that you think 'shouldn't matter'...) and then a little thing can 'push you over'...

For example, when I was a teen, I cried at school for a seemingly 'stupid' reason or 'no reason' - just for getting a 'bad part-grade' (not even a full grade).. But when I read the journal, I was amazed: our country was basically on the verge of war, my parents were totally stressed because of that and because maybe they would lose jobs etc. The stress was 'in the air' and so no wonder I 'snapped'... (we didn't eat so healthy either, and the chemical factory near-by was in one of the worst times, least regulated by law and some iffy things happened) So, it was a combination of factors. Sometimes it's easy to 'oversee' those... And think 'oh I should be happy, nothing bad happened' but if you look at the background, it can make more sense..

Like, recently, the whole world was under stress because of what happened in Japan, there's the economic recession etc - and maybe seeing people that remind you of something can be 'the last straw'... And there are endocrine-disruptors (hormone disruptors) in many of our 'everyday objects', sometimes even in water etc.

So, there are BAD things and there are thoughts that can make a difference too.. If you keep thinking negatively of yourself or others, it can change your brain chemically too... CBT or good books can help..
What do you mean by 'aware of myself'? (Do you get thoughts like everyone is watching you and possibly thinking badly of you etc? This could be a factor.. The Step by Step program calls these thoughts 'ants' and 'lies' and it was very helpful to look at them like that!!) Can you also instead just look at other people's clothes or nature/park around you etc? Usually people are more preoccupied with themselves than others anyway!!
(There are books you can read that can help you change the attitude too!)

What you can do? Check nutrition - eat some BREAKFAST! (any breakfast is better than no breakfast, though again, check for any sensitivities/allergies.. and stay away from sugar and too much caffeine, hidden sugar too.. also stay away from artificial food additives if you can..) I know I was usually much more sensitive when hungry!

March an April are usually most stressful months for school, so imagine how RELAXED and relieved you'll be when it's over! And yeah, walking around snobbish or well-dressed/arrogant-looking teenagers can be kinda stressful too, but maybe they're even more insecure inside than you are!! (And just putting up a 'brave front'?! I know a few like that...)

 

[Falkor]

Since I started to eat more this week, I feel a lot better, and I just started, so food does really a lot!
If u do not eat in the morning, u don't have enough of energy for a long day in school right? You should eat more often, like I'm trying, too now.

About crying, I do cry around people VERY sometimes, just because I can't stand being so aware of my anxiety around them.
But that's a reason, Maybe inside you share the same reason? Because you find it hard to feel like this?
It's totally normal to get sad about it, because it's very hard to experience SA.

And some people just cry without a reason, I think that's because of stress or a lot of things happening in your life, there must be something, why you shed tears right? But maybe you just needed to let your emotions out, this happens a lot to people too, that could be without a reason, because sometimes emotions just need to escape, like some people laugh out of the middle of nowhere

 

[Kiwong]

Sometimes I have to fight myself to not cry at meetngs, or when I am talking to other people. I've found that I am less likely to do this when I have regular relaxaton and deep breathing sessions. Also I stopped drinking caffiene and this has made me less tense. I think there is a reason why I cry and that is my thoughts that make me tense.

 

[JosephG]

Feathers I always do enjoy your scientific and practical approach to things! Your posts are always very insightful! And woo I just learnt about the myelin sheath and schwann cells in biology XD

When I say I become aware of myself.... hmm it's hard to explain. Like I'll just realise that I'm walking past someone and think "How do I appear to them" and I'll start walking funny and become really self conscious. Like I'll think "Am I walking funny" or "Do I look weird/strange" "Do they think I am weird" etc. And then because I am thinking those things I will then actually start to change how I walk and potentially actually look weird XD
It sounds really silly now I say it here! But I think that leads to me feeling like I am going to cry.
Anxiety is hell huh.

And Saskia - Yes I do think it is SA related. It is the anxiety of being around other people. People judging me in the street etc. However I have realised recently that my problems aren't as specific as SA and are certainly much more general (In terms of anxiety and depression). But I certainly feel SA very strongly at times.

So I guess maybe there is a reason as to why I feel like crying. But it certainly isn't a bloody good one XD

 

[BleedTheFreak]

This just happened to me today. I was walking with my mom (who I don't see often) and we were heading to Subway for lunch. When we got about 50 feet from Subway I said out loud "I don't think I can go in there" or something. Then as we got closer I just started pulling away :/ and eventually we stopped and talked. She asked me what was wrong and I just started tearing up and turned around and started walking since I didn't want anyone to see me cry. The sensation eventually went away though, and thankfully I didn't properly cry.

Nothing like this has happened in quite a few years, at least since high school. I mean I always get anxious when I'm out but never to the point where I wanna cry, it was quite an odd feeling...I almost forgot what it was like. I actually felt like a little kid because it brought back memories, and I was just left wondering wtf is wrong with me.

So anyway we walked for about 15 minutes to a park and I calmed down, then we sat in a Chinese place instead :/ and I was totally fine. That's what I don't understand about myself, I have no idea what went off in my head that made me not want to go into Subway, and I also have no idea how I was able to walk into a different place not an hour later with little anxiety....really makes me think I need to talk to someone. You would think it gets easier. I'm 22 and it took literally nothing for me to feel like a scared little kid. I'm embarassed to even write this out, but that's what this site is for I suppose...

 

[JosephG]

This just happened to me today. I was walking with my mom (who I don't see often) and we were heading to Subway for lunch. When we got about 50 feet from Subway I said out loud "I don't think I can go in there" or something. Then as we got closer I just started pulling away :/ and eventually we stopped and talked. She asked me what was wrong and I just started tearing up and turned around and started walking since I didn't want anyone to see me cry. The sensation eventually went away though, and thankfully I didn't properly cry.

Nothing like this has happened in quite a few years, at least since high school. I mean I always get anxious when I'm out but never to the point where I wanna cry, it was quite an odd feeling...I almost forgot what it was like. I actually felt like a little kid because it brought back memories, and I was just left wondering wtf is wrong with me.

So anyway we walked for about 15 minutes to a park and I calmed down, then we sat in a Chinese place instead :/ and I was totally fine. That's what I don't understand about myself, I have no idea what went off in my head that made me not want to go into Subway, and I also have no idea how I was able to walk into a different place not an hour later with little anxiety....really makes me think I need to talk to someone. You would think it gets easier. I'm 22 and it took literally nothing for me to feel like a scared little kid. I'm embarassed to even write this out, but that's what this site is for I suppose...

Hey there.
I think that what you experienced was most likely anxiety related! I think a lot can go on in our sub-conscious without us realising. You may have not consciously been afraid of entering the subway - but at the back of your mind something may have been telling you otherwise (possibly related to social anxiety?). When I'm in an anxious period I often get afraid of going into shops/supermarkets. I have trouble going in and often walk around looking like I'm going to burst into tears - so you're not alone. For me I think it's to do with the fact I have to walk past so many different people in a brightly lighted place which is designed so there's no places to escape.
I wouldn't feel embarrassed about it though. I think you should talk about it though (on this site is a good start!). I often find myself feeling better after sharing my thoughts here. But you should talk to your parents/guardians/friends and maybe consider a counsellor? I have started to do all of this and things are getting better I feel.
Something I've been trying recently is letting myself cry. I really don't cry that often! And I think maybe that is a problem (I read some stat somewhere that most people cry quite a few times a month!). So when I'm alone sometimes I just see if I can let myself cry - and if it happens I just let it out. It feels good and I think it quite a normal thing to do - especially if you are pre-disposed to anxiety. Better to let it out than in!

 

[BleedTheFreak]

Hey there.
I think that what you experienced was most likely anxiety related! I think a lot can go on in our sub-conscious without us realising. You may have not consciously been afraid of entering the subway - but at the back of your mind something may have been telling you otherwise (possibly related to social anxiety?). When I'm in an anxious period I often get afraid of going into shops/supermarkets. I have trouble going in and often walk around looking like I'm going to burst into tears - so you're not alone. For me I think it's to do with the fact I have to walk past so many different people in a brightly lighted place which is designed so there's no places to escape.
I wouldn't feel embarrassed about it though. I think you should talk about it though (on this site is a good start!). I often find myself feeling better after sharing my thoughts here. But you should talk to your parents/guardians/friends and maybe consider a counsellor? I have started to do all of this and things are getting better I feel.
Something I've been trying recently is letting myself cry. I really don't cry that often! And I think maybe that is a problem (I read some stat somewhere that most people cry quite a few times a month!). So when I'm alone sometimes I just see if I can let myself cry - and if it happens I just let it out. It feels good and I think it quite a normal thing to do - especially if you are pre-disposed to anxiety. Better to let it out than in!

Thanks for replying. You're right, and I do occasionally (not very often) cry at home. I guess it's just a release of all the built up anxiety that accumulates from everyday life. I think that's kinda what happened today. I was so worried about going out that I got myself really worked up and it just culminated when I got to the place. Alot of this stems from the way I look, and I'd probably be better off saying "f*** it" and running out the door rather than worrying about how people percieve me. It's easy to say, but when the time comes I get overwhelmed and can't do it. Overthinking really ruins everything, or at least makes it much worse than it has to be.