There's nothing wrong with crying. In fact, letting out a sob can be somewhat therapeutic. Still, even if crying is part of what makes you human, there are moments when you really just don't want to let anyone see you fall apart. Here are a few tips on what to do to calm yourself when you feel like you're about to lose your cool.
Hold something in your hands.
Medical News Today reports that having something in your hands—a stress ball or a pen—diverts your attention from whatever is making your eyes well up.
Pinch the skin between your thumb and your index finger.
A lot of people use this specific trick. Apparently, tensing the muscle between your thumb and forefinger makes you feel more in control. Dr. Ad Vingerhoets told The Cut that doing this "may limit your crying response, because it seems that crying is in particular a passive and helpless reaction."
Deep breaths, everyone.
Just like when you feel yourself panicking, taking deep breaths makes you calmer when you're about to burst into tears.
Tilt your head back.
Doing this makes the tears pool around your eyes, which is still better than having them stream down your face, right? It gives you time to collect yourself and think happier thoughts to hopefully fight back the urge to bawl.
But really, when all else fails, just let it out.
Wanting to postpone a hard cry is understandable, but nothing feels better than accepting the feels and letting the tears come (and eventually go).
Source: Bustle
This story originally appeared on Cosmo.ph.
* Minor edits have been made by the Femalenetwork.com editors.
