Why Men Tend To Cry More in Their Senior Years

In their youth and middle age, men are taught by society not to cry. They are made to feel that it indicates a weak character, and someone who cannot take care of their family. While this is all debatable, senior men have reported crying more often than when they were younger. And there are a number of reasons to back up the reasoning behind why.

• When men get to be 60 and older, they have experienced a big of emotional pain in their lifetime. It could be the loss of a spouse, the loss of a parent, maybe even the loss of a child. When senior men dwell on these past pains, they’re more likely to cry.
  
  
• Senior men no longer feel as though they have to play the “macho man” like they did when they were younger. Culturally, senior men no longer feel the need to be tough and so they let that wall down that has kept them from crying in the past.
  
  
• As people age, depression can settle in based on the fact that the individual is getting closer to the end of their life. Mentally, men can go through these shifts and even develop a mental illness, anxiety, or simply depression which causes them to shed more tears.
  
  
• Senior men produce less testosterone than their younger counterparts. So, if a situation arises that might have made them angry in the past, it might just move them to tears now, instead.
  
  
• Seniors are more likely to be taking medications than any other age group. Senior men may be crying more often and readily due to medications causing depressive symptoms, as well as due to the existence of a chronic disease.
  
  
• Seniors are often faced with loneliness and isolation. These feelings of sadness can encourage tears.

Researchers are discovering that crying is, in effect, a form of therapy, and there can be “healthy” crying that eliminates stress and the built up of tension. However, continual or regular bouts of crying need the attention of a health care professional.

Always Best Care has been providing in-home senior care and assisted living referrals to seniors in Canada and the United States for the past 20 years. If you live in the Vancouver area and would like information about in-home care in West Vancouver, or referrals for assisted living in Burnaby, call the Always Best Care Vancouver location at 778-945-3010 today to set up a free care consultation.