Why Am I Crying For No Reason?

If you burst into tears seemingly out of nowhere, you may feel confused or even worried—especially if you don’t want to cry at that moment or aren’t feeling the level of emotion that would normally cause tears. Whether it’s a one-time occurrence or something you’ve started to notice happening regularly, there are various possible explanations for what might be going on. Read on to learn more about why you might be crying for no reason.

Why do I cry for no reason?

Crying is a natural human response to certain strong emotions. However, if you find that you can't stop crying or are crying more often than usual, you might explore the following potential causes for these tears. Meeting with a doctor and a mental health professional may also be helpful in getting to the bottom of this response.

Depression

Depression is one possible cause of tears that seem to come from nowhere. People who live with mental health conditions like  depression can have feelings of sadness that persist for days, weeks, months, or years, particularly if the condition is left untreated. Depression may cause bursts of sadness and a frequent feeling that you need to cry. Some other potential symptoms of depression can include:

• Feeling down, low, or hopeless

• Changes in sleep schedule or ability to sleep 

• Irritability 

• Changes in appetite

• Trouble focusing 

• Social withdrawal 

• Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed

If you have persistent feelings of sadness, despair, anger, fatigue, and/or imagined scenarios of self-harm, seek help from a registered medical provider like a primary care physician or psychologist as soon as possible. Depression is treatable with professional support. 

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Some people who menstruate experience an increase in crying and other markers of stress before their menstrual period due to rapidly fluctuating hormones and other factors. These symptoms may be particularly severe for those living with diagnosed or undiagnosed premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). If you're able to track your cycle, it may be helpful as a tool for anticipating symptoms of PMS and how they might affect you. Seeking support from a doctor is also recommended if you suspect you may have PMDD.

In addition, those who are or have recently been pregnant or adopted a child should look out for mental health symptoms of perinatal depression, which can impact pregnant individuals, non-birthing parents, and adoptive parents of any gender.  

Physical stimuli

If you find yourself crying for no reason one time, or if what you're noticing is more like watery, runny eyes than streaming tears, it could be that your eyes are dry. This dryness could be due to the time of year, the weather, or dirt or another irritant in the eye. When your eyes are dry, they might create more tears to combat the dryness, which is sometimes called reflex crying. If you suspect there may be a physical cause of your crying, you might meet with a doctor or an eye doctor.

Pseudobulbar affect

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) may cause frequent bouts of laughing or crying that seem to come out of nowhere. It can impact those who live with neurological disorders that affect the brain, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, or Alzheimer's disease. It can also impact those who have had a stroke or live with other health conditions, like Parkinson's disease. 

With PBA, the crying does not align with your emotions, and you may be unable to control your facial muscles. If you experience crying spells that don't align with your feelings, it may be something to investigate with a medical provider to find out whether there might be any neurological conditions or other underlying causes impacting you.

Overwhelm/burnout

Since not all stressors can be eliminated, it can also be helpful to learn healthy ways to manage stress, such as exercise, mindfulness, art, and/or therapy. Individual therapy in particular can be useful for addressing various health conditions and emotional challenges, including depression, guilt, shame, mood swings, anxiety, bipolar disorder, uncertainty in daily life, grief, and many other concerns. If complicated relationships within your family cause your stress, you might try family therapy. Relationship or couples therapy may also be worthwhile if you are facing challenges with a romantic partner.

How to cope with unexpected crying responses

How to cope with bouts of unexpected crying can depend on the cause. If it’s physical, such as dry eyes or an irritant, meeting with a doctor or ophthalmologist or getting some over-the-counter eye drops may help. Meeting with a doctor can also be helpful if you suspect you may have PBA or another medical cause of frequent crying. 

For signs of depression, it’s usually recommended that you meet with a mental health care provider like a therapist. They can provide an evaluation and a diagnosis (if applicable) and can suggest treatment options as needed. Depression typically won’t resolve on its own without treatment and symptoms may actually worsen, so seeking help can be crucial for well-being. 

A therapist may also be able to help you learn to manage stress, overwhelm, burnout, and PMS symptoms. In addition, it may be useful to build some healthy habits and coping mechanisms so you can manage your emotions in a more effective and positive way. Some examples include:

• Meditation

• Breathing exercises

• Regular physical exercise

• Getting enough sleep

• Staying hydrated

• Eating nutrient-dense foods as often as possible

• Spending time with friends regularly

• Journaling

• Meeting with a therapist

Receiving support from a therapist

If you need someone to talk to about stress, depression, anxiety, unexplained crying, or another concern, reaching out to a counselor or therapist may help. That said, not everyone has providers in their area or is able to regularly travel to and from in-person appointments. In situations like these, many people turn to online therapy as an alternative. 

With a platform like BetterHelp, you can get matched with a licensed therapist who you can meet with via phone, video call, and/or in-app messaging to address the challenges you may be facing—all from home or anywhere you have an internet connection. Research suggests that online therapy may offer “comparable outcomes” to in-person therapy in many cases.