We all know that person who seems to cry at the drop of a hat. They might get emotional easily when someone yells at them, or they might start tearing up when they hear a sad story. Crying in these situations is perfectly natural, especially for an overly emotional person.
However, if you think you’re a pretty brave and strong person, but still get easily overwhelmed and sad when someone yells then you might want to investigate the situation more.
Why would this happen? And what can you do to stop yourself from looking weak, insecure, or shaky, when this happens? Read on to find out more about why people cry easily and how you can be in control of your own emotions.
So why do you cry when someone yells at you?
1. It’s in your personality:
Hearing this at first might make you feel frustrated because essentially this is just the way you are and it might seem like there’s nothing to do about it.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s something wrong with you, it’s just how your body chooses to cope with harsh situations. Some people suggest that depending on whether you have an introverted personality or an extroverted personality, you are likely to be less or more vulnerable when people yell at you.
If you identify yourself as an extreme introvert, it may be an indicator that you are more likely to want to be alone or get overwhelmed by the mere pressure of negative social interactions, let alone someone yelling at you.
The more of an introvert you are, the less equipped and prepared you’d be to face the reprimands of someone who starts yelling at you. As an introvert, you might even find loud noises and too many voices speaking at the same time disturbing. It drains your energy and can bring your feelings to the surface easily.
Another factor to have in mind is that you may have a vulnerable personality. This means that you can be greatly affected when you feel attacked in any way. If you feel this is you, some methods can strengthen your abilities to deal with harsh situations such as mentally distancing yourself from the situation, taking deep long breaths, and thinking of what’s happening in a more rational way.
2. You are experiencing high levels of stress:
We all feel stressed in this day and age. Whether it’s from work or at home, or everything in-between. The bottom line is that most of us are probably feeling more stress than we should.
But despite being capable of acknowledging that we are under constant stress, we often don’t realize it until we feel the side effects take over our bodies. One of those side effects can be not being able to control our emotions and getting easily overwhelmed as well as before.
Being stressed takes up a lot of our energy, which consequently makes us more tired. When it comes to solving problems or facing difficult situations, we don’t have the energy to choose the right approach to deal with them.
Sometimes, we are so stressed that, as soon as someone raises their voice at us, we instantly tear up. That would be our first reaction because we already are in a bad state of mind and don’t stop to think of how to approach a confrontation rationally.
You may also wonder “Why don’t I start yelling back, then?”. Being able to yell back at someone who’s yelling at us requires quick thinking and not being in an overwhelmed, shocked, and stressed state of mind.
That’s why, if you are excessively stressed, your first reaction would naturally be to start crying because these loud reprimands are literally the last straw! You don’t have mind space available to think of a reply at that moment or take in any more problems.
3. You may have unresolved trauma:
Not everyone who has trauma is aware of it. Whether your trauma is from an event that occurred in your early life, or it happened recently, you may have subconsciously buried your feelings and hurt because you had to carry on with life. However, that doesn’t mean that you overcame your trauma. You merely put it aside to deal with it later.
In this case, if you are yelled at and realize that you started crying, you may want to look into possible traumas that you haven’t healed from or at least haven’t confronted and learned from. Having unresolved trauma may put you in a more vulnerable emotional state than you realize and can hinder your abilities to deal with difficult situations, be it at work or home.
If you see that you aren’t able to overcome your trauma by yourself, don’t hesitate to seek professional help. Trained psychologists can help you approach your trauma in ways you never thought possible.
4. Check if you have a hormonal imbalance:
Very much like stress, when we have a hormonal imbalance, we only become aware of it when our body starts to show signs. You may have gone through pregnancy or are pregnant, or are going through menopause, just to name a few reasons for hormonal imbalance.
However, you may just have a thyroid issue for no apparent reason. Either way, these conditions will start showing in your body as excess fatigue or hyperactivity, extreme loss or gain of weight, and most important of all, constant mood swings.
If you cried when someone yelled at you, but realize that you are also crying about things you wouldn’t normally cry about, this may just be your hormones altering your emotions. If you also experience fits of anger over trivial things, it could also be a sign of hormonal imbalance. As soon as you suspect what is happening, make an appointment to see your doctor and to check what it could be.
It may be something that your body can sort out on its own, but it also may be something that you will need help with through medication. So the sooner you start solving the issue the better.