Try to bring yourself back into the present moment and remind yourself that you’re safe right now, this can help you to settle down. Try using your five sense to get back into the present moment. What do you see within the room? Can you think about things that you might smell, if you smell anything, you can notice if you taste anything? By using your senses you can calm down and recover from crying. If you are in a time crunch and you need to stop crying, tell yourself, “You need to stop crying and find the calm inside you. ” Repeat this until you stop. You can also purposely startle yourself. This will create a quick shift in your emotions and will help you stop. Simply saying, “Oh!” might do the trick. Redirect your emotions with a pinch to your arm. This can cause enough of a distraction to switch off your crying response. Once you have stopped crying, distract your thoughts away from the reason for crying. If you just received news that someone passed away, focus on what you need to do that day. Crying is related to many positive events as well as sad or maddening events. Allow yourself to cry until you stop.
Avoid rapid breathing that can turn into hyperventilating, which can trigger a panic attack. [1] X Research source
Use a cold compress and place it over your eyes, nose, and face. This will speed up the calming process. If you are at work or elsewhere and a cold compress is not available, wet paper towels and spin them in the air to cool them. This will do the trick. Fan your face using a piece of paper or whatever you can find to allow air to rush over your face. This will cool your face, which will reduce the redness.
Tell yourself, “You are going to think about something positive like how much you love going to the beach. Yes, that is what you are focusing on now. ” Think about a project you are working on. Make a mental list of the steps you need to take and when you will get them accomplished. Imagine how happy you will be when it is complete. This will carry you out of the emotional darkness you might be feeling.
Was this an isolated incident or something that is happening often? If you find yourself crying uncontrollably for an extended period of time, you need to talk to someone about getting help so you can learn how to control crying in a healthy manner. Be kind to yourself during this time. Forcing yourself to stop crying is difficult to manage. Suppressing your feelings can cause negative results.
Write down your concerns. This will help you focus on the problem. Next, write possible solutions to these problems. Practice saying your concerns out loud so you will be calm, prepared, and focused for the conversation. [5] X Research source Communicate with the person to express your concerns. Start by saying, “I’ve been thinking a lot about what has been going on and I want to resolve this issue. Will you hear me out?” This will provide a lead-in to addressing your concerns.
If you cannot stop crying and find yourself crying for most of the day, you should call a counselor or a doctor to seek help. If you have suffered a great loss, crying can be considered normal for a period of time. Grief counseling will help. [7] X Research source Art therapy is also available and can be extremely beneficial. [8] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source