why does other people crying make you cry??

[Lisax]

was just on the phone to my mum who's a bit upset about one of her patients today and rather than be supportive to her i cried with her... which just made her worse!!!!!!

[rampart]

I think it is in our nature to have sympathy for others.

[Englishbird]

Unfortunately it's not in everyone's nature.  But I'm exactly the same, I cry when people on tv are crying.  Sometimes I think of it as the John Coffey effect (green mile) It's because you feel someone elses pain. 

It makes you a good person Lisax so don't feel bad about it.  One trick I do use when someone phones me crying is to start singing a silly song.  usually I'm in a room full of people and they all start staring at me!! But it usually has the effect of making the other person laugh - especially when they realise that you're making a fool out of yourself just to make them feel better.

[Chessman]

Its the same if you see somone else yawn, you'll probably yawn too, its called 'Post Hypnotic Suggestion'.

[CiderMonkey]

Lisax, i am exactly the same - i can't seem to help it. It happens mainly with sadness, but can happen with other emotions (hapiness, excitedness). It sometimes feels like i can actually feel the hurt in my heart if i am watching something particularly sad. I am always crying if other people are!

[Hermia]

Absolutely! I usually start crying when someone is upset about something rather than when something horrible has happened to someone. So, like if there was an item on the news about a child being murdered I'd feel sad, but I wouldn't cry. But, if I saw their parents crying on TV I'd be in buckets. Those lung cancer adverts with people talking about having cancer didn't make me cry, but when I saw the one with the girl talking about her deceased father I got really upset.

I love the way smiles are contagious. If I see someone grinning away I'll suddenly realise I'm grinning too!

[chris_woods]

I cry at anything, I've cried at the simpsons, and the X factor

[mimififi]

I can be a tearful person too.  I cry at all sorts, books are the worst.  But I don't think crying with your mum made you unsupportive.  Sometimes when you cry with a person it is the ultimate suggestion of support.  How much worse would it have been for your mum if you had laughed?  She would ahve thought you thought she was silly for being upset.  Or worst still, seemed entirely unmoved by her pain.

In non-western cultures, and esp, non-british cultures, if there is a death in the community, the WHOLE community cries and mourns and wails in sympathy for the relatives.  They feel their pain.

You said to you mum last night:  "I feel your pain and I feel sad too.  This is a terrible thing, and tomorrow we will feel better.  I'm glad you told me, if I were there I would hug you until you felt better."

(I'm not trying to make light relief, I have actually just started crying myself.  D'oh!)