Cry Me a River: the Truth About Tears
Forrest Miller and Shannon Coyle
Mr. Christensen
Composition 1
19 October 2012
Cry Me a River: The Truth about Tears
Tears. A common ground for all people. Everyone cries, but whether they want to admit it or not is a personal choice. For some, crying expresses weakness, a characteristic that brings upon them the ridicule of their peers; for others, tears are a natural way to express their emotions without holding them in. However, crying is used by many to relieve stress and helps them to calm down after an intense emotional experience. People shed tears because of natural causes, psychological stimuli, and sociological assimilation; knowing each of these triggers can help you to better understand the behavior of those around you.
Although typically associated with emotion, tears are originally produced by the body to protect the eye from foreign irritants and keep the eye lubricated while one blinks. Irritants that may find their way into your eye can include the following: dirt, pollen, sand, dust, or even an eyelash. The eye will sense the abrasive object when you first blink your eye; which can be extremely irritating, or barely felt. Your tear ducts will then secrete a tear in hopes of flushing out the foreign object. Often times the irritant (It may not always be an object) will not be successfully washed away by the first tear, causing a succession of tears to flow until the irritant is effectively displaced. Not only does the eye use tears as a form of self-protection, it also uses tears—albeit in a much less voluminous capacity—to simply keep itself moist. The eye produces a salty tear every time you blink your eye which acts as a lubricant to keep your eye moist, preventing the friction of blinking from irritating and causing damage to the eyeball (Driscoll). Another common sighting of tears would be the point where they well up after a person yawns. These tears are actually released due to built-up pressure within the facial muscles, causing the
Mr. Christensen
Composition 1
19 October 2012
Cry Me a River: The Truth about Tears
Tears. A common ground for all people. Everyone cries, but whether they want to admit it or not is a personal choice. For some, crying expresses weakness, a characteristic that brings upon them the ridicule of their peers; for others, tears are a natural way to express their emotions without holding them in. However, crying is used by many to relieve stress and helps them to calm down after an intense emotional experience. People shed tears because of natural causes, psychological stimuli, and sociological assimilation; knowing each of these triggers can help you to better understand the behavior of those around you.
Although typically associated with emotion, tears are originally produced by the body to protect the eye from foreign irritants and keep the eye lubricated while one blinks. Irritants that may find their way into your eye can include the following: dirt, pollen, sand, dust, or even an eyelash. The eye will sense the abrasive object when you first blink your eye; which can be extremely irritating, or barely felt. Your tear ducts will then secrete a tear in hopes of flushing out the foreign object. Often times the irritant (It may not always be an object) will not be successfully washed away by the first tear, causing a succession of tears to flow until the irritant is effectively displaced. Not only does the eye use tears as a form of self-protection, it also uses tears—albeit in a much less voluminous capacity—to simply keep itself moist. The eye produces a salty tear every time you blink your eye which acts as a lubricant to keep your eye moist, preventing the friction of blinking from irritating and causing damage to the eyeball (Driscoll). Another common sighting of tears would be the point where they well up after a person yawns. These tears are actually released due to built-up pressure within the facial muscles, causing the
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