There is a lot of anti-crying stigma in American culture, especially when it comes to men. This is partly because crying is seen as “unmanly” and partly because people often don’t know how to handle another person’s exposed feelings. However, crying is often an important part of the emotional process that people go through in recovery. It’s how some people express pain, sadness, anxiety, or even joy. When a person is suffering from addiction, it is important that they are honest about their emotions, which may include allowing themselves to cry.
Crying Is Part of the Process
As long as crying isn’t disrupting a person’s everyday life, it is okay to cry. Recovering alcoholics are often dealing with a lot of emotions, including anxiety over relapse, sadness over past wrongdoings, and possibly physical and emotional pain. People recovering from alcohol or drug abuse are commonly suffering from other mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and more. Being able to maintain good mental health is an important part of recovery from any type of addiction. When a person has the urge to cry it’s because of excess emotional energy that has built up inside of them. The release of this emotion is important for a person’s mental health.
Comforting Someone When They Are Crying
When a person who is going through addiction recovery is visibly crying or suffering from emotional distress, it is important to know the correct way to comfort them. Everyone deals with emotional distress differently. Often when people are experiencing extreme emotions, it’s hard for them to know what they need to calm themselves down at that moment. Some people might want to be comforted while others might want to be left alone. You should talk to that person about the best way to comfort them when they are in a good frame of mind so that they can reflect on what helps them get out of a bad emotional state.
Accepting People’s Emotions
Helping someone through the addiction recovery process may be frustrating. Sometimes you won’t be able to calm your loved ones down from an emotional episode. Sometimes it’s important to give a person who is recovering from addiction space to feel and express their emotions. It’s important to be supportive during a person’s addiction recovery. However, you can only help them as much as you have to give. A person recovering from addiction should have multiple resources available to them, including friends, family, and professional help. Ultimately, it is up to them to win the battle against their addiction.
Recovering addicts often struggle with a lot of emotional baggage and it’s important for them to be able to express their emotions openly and honestly. Sometimes crying is necessary to release emotional energy and it’s important to destigmatize crying, especially for men. Alta Loma can help you communicate with your loved ones so you know how to comfort them in times of emotional distress. If you need help caring for a loved one who is struggling with addiction, contact Alta Loma at (866) 457-3843.