As part of our Maps series, we suggest the perfect public places to have a good cathartic sob.
Words by Jordan Currie and Sydney Gore. Maps by Sam Liacos.
Crying in public shouldn’t be left to the movies. When feels begin to bubble up outside of the safety of our homes, it’s within our instincts to suppress our sadness and blink away our tears when surrounded by strangers on the subway or sidewalk. But tears should not always be stowed away in the fleeting, isolated pockets of our lives. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the average person produces 15 to 30 gallons of tears per year. Crying gives the body a brief moment to detox by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which is directly linked to our ability to rest and digest, and also releases endorphins. Simply put, a good, cathartic sob to purge out some of your demons has health benefits aside from it feeling like a heavenly experience. So no, crying isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s beautiful and healing.
Across five major cities, we suggest the perfect places to cry in public safely, so you don’t have to wait to get home to unleash your tears.
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