How to Stop Yourself from Crying

When you are in a situation where you may be crying, you may find crying in public embarrassing, and you want to not cry and be strong. However, always remember that it’s good to cry and everyone does it. Everyone has emotions and they will understand why you are crying. Here are a few tips to make sure you hold your tears back!

EditSteps

EditStopping Yourself from Crying with Physical Actions

Focus on your breathing. Crying is a reaction caused by a heightened state of emotions and the relaxing effects of breathing can help you to stop yourself from crying.^[1] Perhaps you’ve just thought of a sad memory, you’ve been broken up with, or something tragic has happened in your life. Calming yourself is a big part of stopping yourself from crying. Focusing on breathing, as in meditation, can help you to control the emotions you are feeling and help you to restore a sense of inner peace.^[2]
- When you feel the tears coming, breathing in slowly and deeply through your nose, then exhale slowly through your mouth. Doing this will both relax the lump that forms in your throat when you are on the verge of tears, and will stabilize your thoughts and emotions.
- Try counting to 10. Breathe in through your nose when you count a number. Exhale through your mouth when you are between numbers. Counting helps you to focus solely on your breath and not whatever is making you want to cry.
- Even taking just one deep breath can steady you when you are faced with something that makes you want to cry. Draw one deep breath in, hold it for a moment, and then let it back out. In that moment, focus only on the air going in and out of your lungs. Taking this deep breath will also give you a moment to pause before you have to deal with the cause of your sadness.
Move your eyes to control your tears. If you are in a situation that is making you want to cry, but you don’t want to show your emotions to others, moving your eyes can help you to control those tears. Some research has actually shown that blinking may help stop the flow of tears.^[3]Blink a few times to clear your eyes of any tears.
- Cross your eyes or roll them several times. Of course, you may only want to do this when you know that no one is looking at you. Aside from mentally distracting yourself (you have to focus to cross your eyes) it will also physically keep the tears from forming.
- Close your eyes. Closing your eyes gives you a moment to process what is happening. Closing your eyes paired with taking several deep breaths will help you to calm down and focus on not crying.
Distract yourself with a physical movement. When you are on the verge of tears, it is important to get your mind onto other things. Physically distracting yourself is one way to keep yourself from crying.^[4]
- Squeeze your upper thighs or squeeze your hands together. The pressure should be enough to distract you from the reason why you feel like crying.
- Find something else to squeeze, whether it is a stress toy, a pillow, a part of your shirt, or a loved one’s hand.
- Press your tongue to the roof of your mouth or up against your teeth.
Relax your facial expression. Furrowing your brow and frowning may make it more likely that you will start crying because our facial expressions can affect our emotions. To help stop yourself from crying, try to adopt a neutral facial expression in any situation where you feel like you are going to cry. Relax your brow and the muscles around your mouth so that you are not wearing a look of concern or distress.
- If it is appropriate or you can get away for a few minutes, try smiling to stop yourself from crying. Some studies have shown that smiling can alter your mood in a positive way even if you don’t feel like smiling.^[5]
Remove the lump in your throat. One of the hardest parts of trying to hold in your tears is getting rid of the lump in your throat that forms when something makes you want to cry. When your body registers that you are under stress, one of the ways the autonomic nervous system reacts is to open up the glottis, which is the muscle control the opening from the back of the throat to the voice box. When the glottis is opened, it makes it feel like there is a lump in your throat when you try to swallow.^[6]
- Take a sip of water to release the tension caused by the glottis being opened up. Sipping water will relax your throat muscles (and calm your nerves.)
- If you don’t have water on hand, breath steadily and swallow slowly several times. Breathing will help you relax, and swallowing slowly will help tell your body that it doesn’t need to keep the glottis open.
- Yawn. Yawning helps to relax your throat muscles, which means that it helps ease the tightness you feel in your throat when you glottis is opened.

EditLetting It Out and Moving On

Let yourself cry. Sometimes you just have to let it out and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Crying is a completely natural thing that everyone--really everyone--does. Even if you keep yourself from crying in the moment, you will need to let yourself feel sad at some point. Find a quiet place where you can be alone and let yourself have a good, long cry.
- Allowing yourself to cry may even benefit your mental and physical health. Crying can help your body to release toxins. After a good cry you may also find that you feel happier and less stressed.^[7]
Examine why you want to cry or are crying. Taking time to think about what is making you cry or feel like crying is important. Once you find the reason behind your tears, you will be able to analyze it more fully and come up with a solution or a way to make yourself feel better. Think about what is happening that is making you feel like crying. Is there a specific person or situation that is making you feel this way? Has something recently happened that is making you feel sad? Or is there another reason that you keep finding yourself fighting off tears?^[8]
- If you cannot determine the cause of your tears on your own, consider speaking with a therapist for help. If you cry a lot or often feel like crying, you may be depressed and need to be treated for depression.^[9]
Write in a journal or diary. Writing your thoughts down will help you to sort them out and feel better. Journaling can also help you to deal with stress, anxiety, and depression. For best results, set aside a few minutes every day to write about your thoughts and feelings. You can structure your journal any way that you like and write about whatever you want.^[10]
- If a specific person has made you want to cry, try writing them a letter. Writing down what you feel can often be easier than saying your thoughts out loud. Even if you don’t give the person the letter, you will feel better after having expressed what you have been feeling and thinking.
Talk to someone. After you have let yourself cry, you should talk to someone about what you are experiencing. Talk to a close friend, family member, or therapist about whatever is making you want to cry. As the saying goes, two heads are better than one, and the person you talk to will help you resolve the challenges you are facing.
- Talking to someone will also allow you to feel like you are not alone in the situation. If you feel like you are carrying around the weight of the world, talk to someone and let them help you sort out what you are thinking and feeling.
- Talking therapy is very beneficial for people who are dealing with depression, anxiety, loss, health problems, relationship problems, and more. Consider speaking to a therapist if you continue to have trouble with crying or if you have problems that you want to discuss with someone in a safe, confidential environment.^[11]
Distract yourself with things you love. Taking time to enjoy your hobbies can help you to gain a new perspective during a difficult time.^[12] Set aside time every week to enjoy one of your hobbies. Even if you feel like you will never be able to fully engage in the world around you because you are so sad, you will soon find that you are actually having fun and laughing.
- Surround yourself with people that make you happy. Do fun things that you like to do like going hiking, painting, etc. Go to a party and meet new people, or dress up with your friends and throw your own party. Immerse yourself in activities--filling up your time is a great way to distract yourself from feeling sad.

EditStopping Yourself from Crying by Changing Your Focus

Think of something else that you can focus on. Sometimes you can stop the flow of tears by redirecting your attention onto something else. For example, you could change your focus by doing some simple math problems in your head. Add up small numbers or go over the times table in your head will distract your from what is making you feel upset and help you calm down.^[13]
- Alternatively, you could try to think of the lyrics to your favorite song. Remembering the words and singing the song in your head will take your mind off whatever is bothering you. Try to imagine the words to a happy song so you give yourself a mental pick-me-up.
Think of something funny. While it may seem hard to do in the face of whatever is making you want to cry, thinking of something funny can really help you overcome your tears. Think of something that has made you laugh really hard in the past--a funny memory, a scene from a movie, or a joke you heard once.^[14]
- Try to smile when thinking of this funny thing.
Remind yourself that you are a strong individual. Giving yourself a mental pep-talk when you feel like you are on the verge of tears can help you overcome your desire to cry. Tell yourself that it is okay to feel sad, but that you cannot feel sad right now. Remind yourself of the reasons you cannot cry at that moment--you don’t want to cry in front of people you don’t know, or you want to be strong for someone else, etc. Tell yourself that you will let yourself feel sad, but that you need to hold it together for that moment.
- Remember that you are a great person, who has friends and family who love you. Think of what you have achieved in your life, as well as what you hope to achieve in the future. But if you do that it will make you cry more!!
- Research has shown that using positive self-talk has many health benefits beyond easing distress. It can also expand your life, enhance your immunity to the common cold, reduce your chances of developing depression, improve your ability to deal with difficult situations, and reduce your chances of dying from a heart attack.^[15]
Distract yourself by engaging in something else. The worst thing you could do would be to dwell upon whatever is making you want to cry, especially when you want to keep yourself from crying. Distracting yourself is a temporary way to keep yourself from crying--but know that at some point you will have to face whatever is bothering you.
- Put on a movie that you have been wanting to watch (or an old classic that you really love.) If movies aren’t your thing, grab your favorite book or put on an episode of your favorite TV show.
- Go for a walk to clear your head. Often, being in nature is a great way to distract yourself--invest yourself fully in appreciating the beauty around you and try to avoid thinking of whatever is making you sad.
- Exercise. Exercising releases endorphins and will make you feel better when you are feeling sad. Exercising also makes you focus on what you are doing, rather than how you are feeling.^[16]

EditGetting Away with a Few Tears

Blame your tears on something else. While people around you may see through your white lie, telling it may still help to calm you down.
- Say you have been having really bad allergies. This is a classic excuse for having tears in your eyes--allergies make your eyes watery and red.
- Yawn and then say something like, “yawning always makes my eyes water.”
- Say you think you are getting sick. Often, when people get sick their eyes become glassy. Saying you feel sick also gives you a good excuse to leave the setting you are in.
Dry your tears discreetly. If you can’t help but shed a few tears, wiping them away discreetly is the next best thing to keeping yourself from crying.
- Pretend that you're trying to get something out of the corner of your eye, then wipe along the bottom and wipe the tears off the edge. Pressing your index finger lightly into the inside corner of your eye will also help to dab away the tears.
- Pretend you’re sneezing and put your face into the inside of your elbow (so that you can wipe your tears on your arm). If you can’t fake sneeze, just say "false alarm."
Remove yourself from the situation. If you are caught up in a negative situation that is making you want to cry, get out of it. This does not necessarily mean storming out of the room. If something is upsetting you, make an excuse to leave the room for a few moments. Taking a step back from whatever is causing you to want to cry will help you to feel better and control your tears.^[17] By taking a step back, you are distancing yourself both physically and mentally from the problem.
- As you take a step back, breathe in deeply and then exhale just as deeply. You will find that you will feel less inclined to cry.

EditTips

Don't keep things bottled inside.
If you just can't hold it in, it's OK! Sometimes there's just no stopping tears--let them out!
A hug from a friend or family member can be very comforting.
Gritting your teeth may help you control your tears if you are in a public place. Once you've calmed down, think of why you cried and who made you cry.
Talk about why you're upset to the person that's actually caused it in a calm manner.
Take a deep breath, close your eyes, lay down, and relax.
Think of something soothing and happy from your childhood.
Read or talk to someone about ways to help you to control your emotions and try putting these systems in place.
Go to your favorite quiet place to spend some 'alone' time to gather your thoughts. Maybe bring a close friend who could help/comfort you.
Sitting or standing straighter may make you feel more confident and strong, which may help you hold back tears.
Pray, if you're religious.
Blink back the tears.
Remind yourself that everything happens for a reason and all this will only enhance your future.
Eat some chocolate or other things, but not too much, just a few bites of chocolate is good enough.
Talk to your best friend or to your parent; tell them everything. They will be able to cheer you up, for sure.
If you have very close friends or family, you should give them signs or signals that no one else knows about that will show if you are going to cry. They may know how to help you. Whether it be a change in your voice or anything else, they will know and do what they can to help.
Play your favorite song and just dance!
Try and take deep breaths, while slowly and steadily counting to 20.
If it's late, try to sleep. It helps you forget about what you are crying about and helps you feel better.
Start laughing if you feel tears coming on. Think to yourself: "This is silly! Why am I crying?", and you will probably laugh it out instead of crying.
Talk to someone about your feelings, whether it's a family member, a friend, classmate, teacher, therapist, family doctor, principal, or someone who you know well and can trust. They will comfort you and calm you down.
If you cry a bit, you could tell people that you have something in your eye.

EditWarnings

If you're thinking of hurting yourself or others, seek immediate help.
If you feel like you don't have someone to talk to, seek professional help. Go to your school counselor or to a therapist. There will always be someone willing to listen. Even talking to another adult you trust that isn't in your family can help.

EditRelated wikiHows

EditSources and Citations

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