Is there a purpose?
In: Biology
Aside from the answer given the other “biological” (I deem this as why evolution made it that way) is because it expresses sadness without any form of language. Like all of our muscles that allow us to make facial expressions tears help convey emtoions, which is incredibly useful for our species which has evolved with social ability in mind.
Tears contain tiny amounts of a very powerful pain-killing compound. It’s literally an act of self-soothing. Very useful for an organism with emotions that can go haywire.
The biological purpose has nothing to do with sadness, it’s to help get stuff out of your eye that doesn’t belong to, and it’s triggered by pain. As far as I know and from personal experience with pain medication, physical and psychological pain are very similar. Maybe there is a connection
You will usually find after a good cry, you tend to feel better. That’s because it’s a reflex of self-soothing that releases endorphins that chemically makes your brain calmer, lessens pain and makes you feel better overall.
Someone has already mentioned the small dose palliatives in tears, but that’s only part of the answer. Crying comes before language, and is a way for infants to communicate that they need something.
What about when crying with laughter!?
Tears provide a visible signal that you are in pain, that can be silent.
EG, you’re hunting a sabretooth tiger with your caveman buddies, and you hurt yourself. The other cavemen see your tears and know you’re hurt, you didn’t have to make a sound which could be heard by the sabretooth tiger.
The stuff that deals with pain don’t really distinguish between physical pain and emotional pain.
So that’s why your body goes through a bunch of physical responses to emotional pain when you are sad, including crying.
To forget it about it!!
If you don’t cry {pain increase with time} and it will hurt more!!!
😑{ I talk less}
Good article [here](https://aeon.co/essays/the-original-meaning-of-laughter-smiles-and-tears) that goes through a theory from a social standpoint, possibly linked to the biological question from OP
I’m guessing, more of a function for small babies and infants.
Crying alerts parental figures that you need attention. You’re either in pain, need food, or have a poopy butt.
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