Crying is an emotional release that has so many mixed feelings surrounding it. Growing up, I was admonished for crying and that hasn’t changed in adulthood. As a woman I’m often seen as too emotional for crying and I make people uncomfortable. When I look back on my life, it’s so interesting to see who wasn’t afraid to cry and who was. In this episode, I explore the cultural, gender, and generational impact on crying.
Key Takeaways:
[3:47] Being told it wasn’t okay to cry as a child
[6:23] Society telling boys not to cry and thinking girls are lesser for doing so
[8:03] Crying should be normalized
[10:12] My college boyfriends weren’t afraid to cry
[13:46] Crying a ton after Molly died and making people uncomfortable
[15:23] Being admonished for crying
[18:50] Learning I needed to not cry while my daughter does
[22:23] Young girls being ridiculed for crying and being uncomfortable about it
[27:53] Miriam Bialik and Nora Mcinerny’s discussion on grief
[29:14] Glennon Doyle and Elizabeth Gilbert’s talk about terminal cancer
[31:03] Karen Kenney’s episode on crying
[33:35] Kenny being okay to cry, but generational differences separate us
[34:43] Being given permission to cry
[36:21] Thinking back to how different people in my life viewed crying
[38:07] Panicking about how time goes by so quickly
[39:42] I cry a lot about what I’ve lost
[41:29] The many emotions around crying and what I’ve stopped crying about
[42:55] My kids being different around crying
[44:02] $13,000 in scholarships for kids
[46:36] World events are causing so many tears: guns, abortion, and war
[49:18] Everyone is so different with crying
[50:45] My journey of crying, expressing my emotions, and dissociating
[53:16] How much do you cry?
Resources from this episode:
- Death Be Not Proud movie
- On Golden Pond movie
- The Woman in Gold movie
- Libby’s podcast on The Power of Crying
- Skylar’s podcast Get Ready to Crumbl
- Miriam Bialik and Nora Mcinerny’s discussion on grief
- Glennon Doyle and Elizabeth Gilbert talk on cancer
- Karen Kenney’s episode on crying
- My TV commercial
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