The Healing Power of Shedding Tears

For years, laughter clubs ruled India’s parks and open grounds, where people gathered to laugh together before starting their day. But in the hush that follows the laughter boom, a quieter trend is emerging — crying clubs.

Across cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Pune, people are gathering not to laugh, but to cry.

Cry Baby, Try

The concept of the crying club first emerged in Japan as ruikatsu, or “tear-seeking activity.” It encouraged people to come together and cry as a way to cleanse the heart. What began as a small wellness trend has spread across the world, especially in urban circles. At first, most people find the idea of crying with strangers strange. “I didn’t think I’d cry,” admits Tejal, 30, an HR professional. “But when I saw others breaking down, it just… came out. I didn’t need to explain why. It felt freeing.” That’s the secret of these clubs: The relief of not having to explain yourself.

A Quiet Rebellion

“We’ve been told for too long to hold it together,” says a therapist who observes these circles. “But suppressing emotion doesn’t make it disappear; it makes it heavier. “Crying clubs are a safe place to finally put that weight down and let yourself be free of any emotional baggage,” says Kanika, Buddhist practitioner and crying club facilitator.

Science Of Tears

Crying is your body’s natural detox mechanism. Science supports what these crying sessions already sense. Research in ‘Frontiers in Psychology’ shows that crying activates the body’s relaxation system and helps release stress hormones like cortisol, quite literally washing stress away. That explains why so many participants describe feeling “lighter,” “emptied out,” or “peaceful” after a session. “It’s almost like a reset button,” says one attendee from Hyderabad. “You walk in carrying your week, and you leave without it.”

Tears = Therapy

Psychologists say this collective crying trend reflects a broader shift in how Indians are viewing mental health. For years, self-care was about productivity, yoga, meditation, and gratitude journals.

“Crying used to be seen as a loss of control,” explains Dr Neeta Mohan, a Counsellor & Psychologist, Mumbai. “But now, people are recognising it as emotional regulation and a healthy expression of what they’ve been holding inside.”

Crying together can also normalise emotional openness. When people witness others crying without shame, it subtly rewires how they perceive vulnerability. It says: you’re not broken for feeling deeply you’re human.

Cry-Club Crawlers

Many attendees describe themselves as “functioning fine” working professionals, students, new parents, and even retired individuals. Some cry for personal losses. Others for things beyond their control, the guilt of not being “enough,” the loneliness of living online. The reasons vary from person to person.

A Mumbai tech employee puts it simply: “We celebrate laughter, but we hide tears. The crying club reminds me that both are part of being alive.”

A Cultural Shift

Tears become a level-playing field, dissolving hierarchy, status, and social masks.

A middle-aged participant recollects his crying experience at the club and says, “For the first time, I cried without apology. No one told me to stop or ‘be strong.’ It was healing.”

Look Beyond Tears

Crying clubs don’t promise instant healings or lifelong solutions. They don’t replace therapy or erase pain. What they offer is a safe space to show your vulnerabilities and feelings as they are — raw and unfiltered. They remind people that joy and sorrow aren’t opposites but companions. That sometimes healing happens through tears.

Each time a crying session wraps up, the group sits quietly. Faces are blotchy, eyes red, but there’s laughter too — soft, genuine, unforced. Someone cracks a joke about needing a tissue sponsor!

Outside, the city traffic buzzes as usual, office deadlines loom large, but amid this hustle and bustle, each participant walks home with a gentle reminder — the healing power of tears!