Monday, June 01, 2009

My eyes and whole face got all puffy

After a few minutes of crying profusely, I went to the CR to wash my face. I was so hurt and I couldn’t stop myself from crying. I felt my head was about to explode. I thought that washing my face would ease it up a bit and doing something else like walking to the wash room instead of pounding my head with sad thoughts would help divert my attention and forget the crying. I was shocked to see myself on the mirror. It was like I was looking at someone else’s face. My face was all puffy. It was a long time since I last cried that much but I can’t recall seeing that face on the mirror after crying. My heartache was replaced with curiosity as to why my face got all bloated that much. I thought that maybe something’s wrong with my glands.

I rummaged around some health and science websites and found this on one of them.

The other physical changes associated with crying, such as swollen eyes, a red nose, and puffy face, occur because of why we start crying. Humans have two nervous systems, which control every part of the body. The first one, called the parasympathetic nervous system, is controlled by parts of the brain responsible for our day-to-day involuntary bodily functions, such as digestion, breathing, and the beating of our hearts.

The body's other nervous system, called the sympathetic nervous system, is controlled by centers of the brain and spinal cord that respond to stressful conditions, such as danger or strong emotions. When danger, anger, or fear activates the sympathetic nervous system, we experience a "fight or flight" response. Adrenalin surges through our bodies. Pupils dilate, the lacrimal glands secrete more fluid, the heart begins pumping more blood more rapidly, breathing increases to bring in more oxygen, muscles tense, and our senses stand ready to respond to danger. The body reacts to any strong emotion, such as crying, in this manner. The face becomes flushed and puffy, the facial muscles twitch, and the throat constricts, further changing the quality of the voice.


Hmmm. I think the explanation matched my situation. I thought that perhaps I should settle the problem and stop myself from feeling strong negative emotions or I’ll see that face on the mirror often. :-(

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Everykind of muscle contraction make more hypervascularisation, it means more oxygen, and than,fluid will move from vessel to tissue in that area, so it makes puffy, or swollen.
Good information. Thanks.

Unknown said...

When a person cries...it is their bodies way of screaming for help. It is overstressed...to the limit and it has to get rid of it. So it causes the senses to cry and release bodily fluids.

When this happens...it is a definite red flag that you are under a lot of stress and very tired.

sexyjessie said...

Have a good cry, let go and refreshes everything!

keb said...

Crying is good. No matter what happens, let's be thankful we have tears! Enjoy life! Love your posts.. Keep it up!

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