Usually, when people are about to cry, they get a “lump” in their throat that’s very noticeable if they try to swallow. Since it’s obviously not a spontaneous forming of mass, what exactly is it? How does it form? What purpose does it serve?
My uneducated guess is that the sensation has something to do with constricting of the airway that also seems to be a component of bawling. The ole schnoz gets stuffy and runny, eyes tear, face flushes, and breathing becomes irregular.
Sort of like what happens with anaphylaxis/allergic reactions, which is why I’m allergic to crying (lame attempt, mea culpa).
If there’s a doctor in the house, now I’m curious, too.
I’ve noticed a couple of books on psychotherapy ascribing the “lump” to our unconscious attempts to not cry. If true, then if a person always freely bawled in public, and was never ridiculed for this as a child, perhaps they’d never experience the “lump” phenomenon? Do people from cultures where public weeping is totally acceptable also experience “the lump?” In our own culture, is it mostly men who experience it, or is it distributed equally regarless of sex?
bbeaty - I am sceptical of that explanation. I’m not afraid to cry and I always get the lump, no matter what.
Although, come to think of it, it is much worse if I do try not to cry. Huh.
The constricted airways explanation would seem to make sense. But why does our airway constrict? What sort of bizarre reaction to being upset is that? For example, I understand the reason for the Fight or Flight reactions that adrenaline brings about when you’re afraid. But constricting airways makes no evolutionary sense to me (yet).
No. I’m a girl and can be a bit of a cry baby (only when sad/ hurt - not when happy - I’m not that weepy!) and I get the lump in the throat thing but I think it’s definitely worst when you’re trying not to cry - like on a bus or in front of colleagues or something.
I don’t think any culture has people who just cry at the drop of a hat. All children who cry in public (if they’re throwing a tantrum or disrupting other people) are generally reprimanded by their parents as far as I can see. I can’t imagine it being otherwise but it’s an interesting thought.
Let me reiterate, I’m no scholar on this subject. Seems to me that the lumpy throat only occurs in conjuction with the emotion sadness (as opposed to tears of joy, pain, relief, etc.). Now there has to be a chemical basis for this emotion of which I am ignorant. At the very least there has to be a physiological cascade that preciptitates the sadness/lump-in-the-throat/crying like a babe reaction.
In other words, we preceive a stimulus that triggers a physiological/chemical response, the “result” of which are the observable conditions of tears, blubbering, and the aforementioned lumpy sensation.
Laughing and smiling (even pretending to do so) has been reported (sorry, no cite, but I believe this is one of those “generally accepted” deals we term “facts”) to induce the release of certain chemicals into the bloodstream. Said chemicals produce observable physiological effects (pupil dilation, perspiration, gereral arousal). Why is it a stretch to think that the antithesis follows a similar pattern?
As for the question of evolutionary sense, what evolutionary purpose to the sinuses in your head or your appendix serve? They’re just there. No need for 'em, but we’re stuck with them.
Okay, that may be too simple a comparison. As I recall, the lump in the gullet sensation is not a pleasant one. In fact, the experience approaches pain, no? This is just off the top of my head, but it could be that weeping is, in fact, a good thing for our brains. It helps us process emotions and purge chemicals, relieves stress, etc. Perhaps the lump in the throat is a sort of trigger stimulus to prompt the crying behavior. By blubbering, we alleviate the lumpy sensation and “have a good cry” to boot.
Just my couple of pennies. Any shrinks lurking that can provide a more clinical opinion than my novice one?
Thinking about it a tad more, there are learned behaviors associated with crying, obviously. There is truth to the cliche “boys don’t cry” (the Cure song aside). However, seeing someone else cry can be a powerful stimulus for behavior as well. We seem to be hard wired to key on faces in social situations. We “read” others in social situations, in part, to gauge their emotions. Emotions are relatively overt, whereas thoughts are much more difficult to decipher. Language is at best imperfect when it comes to communicating ideas (see “lie” in Webster’s 11th ed.). So, we cue off others’ emotions as a way of gathering information in social situations. If the lump in the throat is indeed a trigger or a negative stimulus that is alleviated when we cry, it could be that crying overtly is an important social cue - it signals to others that we are distressed and should be treated gently, with compassion, or that we need some kind of reassurance… you get the picture.
Cool topic.