In grieving, crying is the yin complementary process to the yang process of angering. When we are hurt, we instinctively feel sad as well as mad. The newborn child, hurt by the loss of the perfect security of the womb, howls an angry cry. Crying is also an irreplaceable tool for cutting off the critic’s emotional fuel supply. Tears can release fear before it devolves into frightened and frightening thinking. In fact, crying is sometimes the only process that will resolve a flashback. I have witnessed my own critic wither into innocuousness hundreds of times after a good cry.
