The movie Inside Out is an animation about an 11-year-old girl Riley’s five emotions that work in the emotion-controlling headquarters in her head; it’s about an adventure that her five emotions—Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear—have to bring back happiness to Riley who’s having a hard time in a different environment. The film tells us that Sadness who cries about everything is as important as Joy who is always bright in life.
Humans are animals of emotions that feel tens of different emotions. Human emotions cannot be categorized exactly like in the movie, but there is no objection that joy and sorrow are the keys that play pivotal roles. Laughter and tears are two ways that express the extreme feelings of joy and sadness. What is the meaning of laughter and tears in life which is mixed with sweetness and bitterness?
What is laughter and tears?
Laughter may seem simple, but it is an interesting expression of emotions that arises from many complex emotions. It varies individually, but it is said that people laugh more than 500,000 times in their lifetime. On average, children laugh about 400 times a day, but as they grow up, they laugh less and less, and by the time they are grown up, they laugh about eight times a day.
Tears come in the moments of pain, overwhelming moments, and even while yawning. Tears can be divided into three categories. Basic tears keep the pupil’s surface clean and moist. Reflective tears are spontaneous tears that come out in situations like peeling an onion or dust touching the eye; these tears protect the eyes from external irritation. And there are emotional tears that shed in certain emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, which show a high level of human brain activity.
Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher, insisted on the Superiority Theory which says that “the cause of laughter is feelings of superiority.” How comedians induce laughter with funny and silly characters explains this theory. The German philosopher Kant explained laughter with the Incongruity Theory which says that “the cause of laughter is the perception of something that violates our mental patterns and expectations.” This explains why the entertainment programs that provoke laughter by catching the viewers off guard or with a silly ending are famous.
There are many different causes of tears. Whether it is from pain, loneliness, sadness, frustration, or despair, tears are a type of a sign of pain. Paradoxically, tears come when something is too funny or touching. In other words, tears are associated with the extremes of life.
Laughter and crying have been regarded as merely psychological reactions. However, modern research is being conducted in various fields such as cognitive science and neuroscience. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly where laughter and crying occur, but scientists assume that it is associated with the brain’s limbic system, which is primarily responsible for emotion control, and the cerebral cortex.
When a person encounters some words or action, the brain’s cerebral cortex feels emotions such as sad, funny, and lonely. These feelings are accompanied by physical reactions such as heart palpitations and shortness of breath. The body’s response is controlled by the limbic system, hypothalamus, and brainstem. The feelings created here become expression that moves muscles through autonomic nervous system reactions or muscle movements. The simple act of laughing while watching a comedy show is the result of several parts of the brain moving together.
The language of emotion that connects you with others
Even if you don’t speak, you can convey emotions anywhere in the world simply by laughing or crying. These acts may be faster than words in conveying joy, gladness, regret, and sorrow. It is because people’s emotions are amazingly similar though we all look different. Even the babies’ first language is laughter and tears.
Sometimes you just hear someone laughing and you laugh as if it is contagious. This is why it is said that people laugh about 30 times more when they are with someone else than when they are alone. Using this principle, many television entertainment shows record the sound of laughter beforehand and play it in every funny scene. Not only laughter, but sadness and other feelings are also contagious. This is due to the mirror neurons, which mirror other people’s actions as if reflected in the mirror.
People also use laughter to create an emotional background that connects each other. Like the quote “Laughing is and will always be, the best form of therapy,” the social effect of laughter is so great that it makes the interaction with others smooth and enjoyable. American psychologist Marianne LaFrance wrote in her book: “It (A smile) is a social magnet, a trustworthiness meter, a device for diffusing anger, a patch for repairing frayed interpersonal bonds, and a lubricant for keeping social ties.” In other words, laughter is one of the social signals that strengthen relationships.
Appealing with tears, whether intended or not, can move the viewer’s heart more than any words. In addition, if you are with someone who can empathize with your sadness when you are crying, you will calm down faster. Like this, tears, which are a sign of pain, draw a bond of social attention and help.
Laughter and tears keep you healthy
After laughing out loud at a humorous remark from someone around you, the irritation and dissatisfaction that were in your mind are washed away. This probably explains why laughter is regarded as a symbol of happiness and health, just like the quotes, “Laughter is the best medicine” or “A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.”
In fact, laughter stimulates the release of hormones like endorphins which have strong analgesic effects. These hormones relieve stress, which is the cause of depression and dementia, and improve mood and relieve pain. Laughter increases the NK cells, T cells, B cells, etc., which remove cancer and bacteria, and strengthens the immune system, and thus can be expected to prevent inflammatory diseases and cancer.
Cheerful laughter is also the best exercise that contracts about 30 facial muscles simultaneously and moves 231 of about 650 muscles in the body. Laughter helps you relax your muscles and strengthen your mind and body. If you let a laugh burst out from the stomach, you can breathe with your stomach, which increases the up-and-down motion of the diaphragm. Oxygen and blood are supplied to every corner of the lungs, and oxygen-rich blood flows all over the body, which allows smooth metabolism and stimulates the digestive organs to help digestion. Just like the expression, “You get younger every time you laugh. You get older every time you get angry,” good changes occur rhythmically in our body when we laugh excitedly and merrily.
Just as laughter is good for your health, tears are also good for your health. There is a difference in composition between tears caused by simple stimuli and tears that are emotionally shed; emotional tears contain more neurotransmitter which controls stress hormones or emotions. Tears are the medium that releases toxic substances accumulated during emotional stress. That’s why you feel better if you cry when you feel emotionally overwhelmed.
In 1997, when British Princess Diana died in a car accident, British people fell into great sorrow. However, interesting statistics were announced that the number of patients with depression decreased by more than half. Seeing how tears released the emotions that had been suppressed and served as a mental remedy, psychologists called this The Diana Effect. It means that letting out sad emotions with tears is better for mental health than suppressing them.
Newborn babies express their feelings by crying. However, as they grow older, they use words and refrain from expressing their emotions. As we grow older, we may develop illness in our minds by being socially restricted in expressing our emotions. To get the emotions you’ve been suppressing off your chest and express it honestly is important for the balance of your mind.
Laughter and tears are acts of expressing emotions. When you laugh out loud or cry to your heart’s content, you feel lighter, and you feel like the things that have been suppressing your heart have been taken away. Laughter and tears that broaden the mind are the healing methods given by nature.
How we express our emotions and how we control them can affect our lives. “Tears make us look back on the past, and laughter makes us look ahead into the future,” experts say. It comes from the interpretation that tears help us endure difficult situations and laughter helps us overcome difficult times. It is often said that shared joy is double joy, and shared sorrow is half a sorrow. How about sharing pain with family, friends, and co-workers through tears, and sharing joy and happiness through laughter, rather than holding on to your worries all alone?
“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.” Job 8:21
“Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll—are they not in your record?” Ps 56:8
- Reference
- Lee Yun-seok, Science of Laughter (in Korean, 웃음의 과학), Science Books, 2011
- Choi Hyeon-seok, Every Human Emotion (in Korean, 인간의 모든 감정), Seohaemun Collection, 2011
- Han Gwang-il and Kim Seon-ho, Crying, You Get Sick If You Suppress It (in Korean, 울음, 참으면 병 된다), Samho Media, 2012
- Marianne LaFrance, Lip Service, W.W. Norton & Company, 2011