I can't cry.

The exact same thing has happened to me man.
One time when i was feeling completely overwhlemed; lost, alone and abandoned, i shut myself in my room because i wanted to have a good cry.

The tears never came. I found myself trying to force it but.. nothing.

Don't take it as a bad sign man. I doubt very much you are devoid of sentiment and that you can no longer feel. You prolly didnt read the other posts because you just had too much goin on in ur head at the time.

We all need a cry every now and then and im sure that the tears will come at some point.

A few days later after mt little non-crying incident, i balled my eyes out and felt much better aferwards.

I dunno if ive been much help but i just wanted to share my experience and show you that ur not the only one this has happened to.

 

Hey there,

I think that happens a lot. I know it's happened to me before. I tend to keep track of the movies that I cry at and then if I feel like I really need to cry, I'll go rent them specifically to trigger the crying.

Happily these days I can cry pretty easily. It's hard to do in public... I think the only time I ever cry in public these days is in movie theatres. It's not really considered an acceptable thing for guys, in public or private, to do so I wouldn't feel bad if you have difficulty doing it.

I find that I often start crying about something that is happening to someone else (hence movies and TV as triggers) but pretty much it's always really about something that's going on with me.

And if you think about it, if crying is letting go, you can't really force yourself to let go--it's something you have to kind of relax into, like it's nearly like meditation where you have to do these weird mental gymnastics where you try not to do anything to attain your goal. It's pretty counter-intuitive.

What happened with your friend/crush?

 

hey, i understand how you feel, when everything just builds up and there's no place to let loose. I hope everything works out with your friend. There were a lot of times when i thought that by friend had shunned me, but I was always wrong, and just short sighted. Hopefully things will look better for you too.

 

It seems that you have a lot going on right now. There is definately a lot of stress involved in coming oout, and redefining relationships. I think you have been all wrapped up in these new events, along with the usual stresses of life, and you haven't really had time to process everything, and it is begining to overwhelm you.
There is a huge balance between the elation of coming out, and the other joys in your life, and the deep confusion, conflict and saddness you also are feeling. You can't cry because you don't know what to feel, sad or happy. Does it make sense to cry when so many good things have happened. And... why can't I cry when my life seems to be going out of control, or when I'm loosing my crush as a friend?
It's kind of an emotional shock. I think it happens when there are too many things going on all at once. The body goes into shock when your blood stops circulating properly, usually due to injury. "Emotional" Shock is when so much is going on, that not enough time has been alloted to deal with each incident individually.
To answer your question, you haven't lost the ability to feel. In fact, at times you are probably feeling too much and just can't understand each emotion. There has to be a point where you need to take time just for yourself to sit and think. Don't try to feel anything, just let the feelings come to you. Think of your childhood, things that made you happy, and also the feelings you had staying closeted for so long, all the secrets. Think of the things that you enjoy, computer games, math, etc. and your friends. All of the meaningful things, the things that have gotten you through to where you are now, what has given you the strength you have now? (I know that especially after a hard week you don't feel very strong, but it comes through in you posts. and you are definately NOT devoid of sentiment.) By understanding the things that mean the most in your life, you can reintroduce yourself to "feeling".
This sounds kind of strange, but there is a tremendous beauty in the things that make us sad. It does not lie in the despair, but in in how we overcame it. The hope that comes from working through a problem. Often it is the beauty or connection to something, not the pain, that ultimately allows us to break down and cry. Failure to cry probably means we haven't taken a long enough time to connect with what is really bothering us. I would try not to worry about not being able to cry, and concentrate on relieving some of the stress that's going on in your life. Of course one great way of doing this, is talking about it, so you've made the first step in the right direction.

 

About 3 weeks ago my grandfather had passed away. I was pretty close to him. He and my grandma lived about 25 minutes away from us and I visited them probably twice a month. While in the middle of the wake, I went and sat by myself to reflect. I really wanted to cry, but I just couldn't. I didn't know why. I thought to myself, "My grandpa just died and I'm just sitting here!" I was sad, but tears just would not come out. Then at the end of the night, it finally hit me that I was never going to see him again. That is when my tears started to drown me. My feelings just took over my body and I just kept crying. Looking over and seeing all my aunts, uncles, cousins, sister, and especially my mother crying as well, just made the tears come out faster.

After reading your post today goratrix, I realized that you cannot necissarily "make" yourself cry. You can't "try" to cry. You have to let go of your concious self, and let your emotions and feelings take you. I think that is how someone starts to cry.

A great example is what joey said about watching movies. When you are watching a movie and you cry, you cry because of the emotional aspects of that movie. You don't try to make yourself cry while watching it, it just happens because you listen to the story and the feelings of the people and it naturally comes out, wheither it being sad, happy, or anything else.

Hopefully this post has helped you.

 

hey there, i dont think you can make yourself cry ( unless u stab urself but thats beside the point) , it just happens on its own, and no. no,no,no,no does it make it u insensitive or unfeeling. thats all.



cheers

 

I think if you feel sorrow, let's cry so it'll make you feel better. Everybody knows that crying will show your weekness, but can also solve your problem too.
I sometimes cried in the shower, mixed my tears with the hot water, and they flow down, carried my emotions with them.
If you try to hold back the tear, that'll also help, it'll make you stronger over time, but just do what you need

 

I try not to cry. I know it's stupid to hide my emotions but that kept me alive for years so I still do it sometimes. Plus, crying makes me feel guilty.