The Comfort Couch

It started with a reel on Instagram. A 20-second video of someone hugging their grandmother at the airport.

And just like that—I was crying. Quietly, at first. Then a little more. There was no trigger, no sad news, no major event in my life that day.

Just tears. Out of nowhere.

Except… it wasn’t really out of nowhere.

If you’ve ever found yourself crying when nothing seems “wrong,” you’re not alone.

Many of us hold in a lot—tough conversations we avoided, grief we didn’t have time for, or just the fatigue of always keeping it together. Our minds move forward, but our bodies remember. And sometimes, the body speaks through tears.

A client once told me, “I didn’t cry during the breakup. But two weeks later, I cried uncontrollably in the back of an auto when I saw a street dog limping.”
She looked at me, confused and embarrassed.
But all I could say was, “That makes sense.”

Tears don’t always come at the height of pain.
They often come after—when it’s finally quiet enough to feel.

When Emotions Spill

Think of your emotions like water filling a glass 🥛. You keep pouring in little things each day—disappointments, self-doubt, responsibilities, skipped meals, stress.

And then one moment, without warning, that glass overflows.

It’s not weakness. It’s not drama.
It’s overflow. A signal that you’ve been carrying more than you realized.

There’s Always a Reason (Even If It’s Not Obvious)

Maybe it’s:

• Unprocessed grief
• Stress that never got a release
• A subtle reminder of something lost or unmet
• Hormonal shifts or nervous system fatigue
• A moment of unexpected tenderness that breaks your emotional armor

Sometimes, the tears don’t come because something bad is happening—they come because your body finally feels safe enough to let go.

So What Might Be Beneath Your Tears?

Let me gently ask:

• Have you been on autopilot lately, pushing through?
• Are there emotions you’ve been avoiding or numbing?
• Is there something you haven’t said out loud… even to yourself?
• Have you been tired in a way sleep can’t fix?

Let the tears come.

Don’t rush to label it. Don’t force it to make sense right away. Crying is your nervous system regulating itself. It’s relief. It’s release. It’s real.

You don’t need a tragic backstory to justify a good cry.
You don’t need to explain it to anyone. Not even yourself, right away.

What Helps in the Moment?

• Pause. Breathe. Put a hand on your chest if it feels grounding.
• Ask gently: What has this week taken out of me?
• Don’t fight the tears. Let them be what they are—temporary and cleansing.
• Find comfort. Wrap yourself in something soft. Make tea. Dim the lights.

You’re allowed to be soft. Even if the world doesn’t always give you space for that softness.

You can journal these, or simply sit with them for a minute:

• What feelings have I been putting off?
• When did I last let someone hold space for me?
• What do I need that I haven’t been asking for?

When Tears Become a Pattern

If these moments are happening often—crying spells that feel confusing, overwhelming, or hard to shake—it might be your system’s way of asking for more support.

Sometimes, we’ve been strong for so long, we don’t realize how alone we’ve felt until we’re in safe company.

Therapy can be that space. A space to unpack what you’ve been carrying. To feel without judgment. To understand your emotions instead of fearing them.

You don’t have to figure it all out by yourself.
You just have to start with: I think I’m ready to talk.

Whenever you are—I’m here.