Its My Illness…….And I’ll Cry If I Want To!featured

“You would cry too if it happened to you”……..as the famous song  from the early 1960’s  called “It’s My Party” goes. Only I ain’t talking about losing a boyfriend in this case.

I’m talking about coping with the unbelievably OVERWHELMING flood of emotions and fears when being told you have a later stage cancer.  If you have never been faced with this yourself, I don’t think you can in any way imagine the incredible shock, sadness, and stress it brings to a person.

I have always tried to hide my tears from people, especially after working in Corporate America for over 20 years. It is like the unwritten 11th commandment: Thou Shalt Not Cry……ever……for ANY reason!

Not sure why, but I have also personally seen it as a sign of weakness.  But, after going through this health crisis, I honestly no longer feel that way.

If you are someone who feels uncomfortable with tears, but have a loved one or friend that has been diagnosed and can’t stop sobbing, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don’t get angry with them, or tell them to stop it and suck it up, or tell them to quit crying and just think POSITIVE. You are sooooooooo not being helpful. Instead you should tell them to let it all out and give them a sturdy shoulder to cry on!

In fact, I now think it takes tremendous courage for a man or woman to show their vulnerable side to everyone around them openly.  It shows you are real, you are human, and you are authentic. Something rare in our fake  “retouched selfie picture” society today.

Since diagnosis day, I’ve sobbed my heart out during phone calls with my prescription drug customer service rep, in waiting rooms for doctor appointments, during face to face meetings with doctors, and of course talking/e-mailing/texting about my situation with friends and family.

Am I at all embarrassed or ashamed? Hell to the no!

On top of that, my family has historically  lived within a “No Cry Zone”, but that seemed to go out the window too with my illness. Even my father openly admitted to sobbing like a child when he got the news.

I think that its good! Its healthy! And its actually healing!

Did you know that there are special soothing and cleansing elements contained in tears shed for emotional reasons versus tears shed when getting something caught in your eye? Check out this interesting article I came across talking about why tears are healing:  https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-freedom/201007/the-health-benefits-tears

So hopefully next time an urge to cry comes, we can all just let the flood gates open freely!