Question: why do humans cry?xx

Carolyn McGettigan answered on 25 Mar 2010:

Good question. Tears have a simple purpose in things like getting dirt and dust out of our eyes. Crying through emotions, like sadness and frustration, may be a means of making an outward signal to other people that we need help, or that we feel helpless. Helplessness could be either in a sad or a happy scenario – for example, someone who has received overwhelmingly good news may cry because they feel they had no control over the happy events. In evolutionary terms, crying clouds the eyes with tears and this might be a sign of ‘appeasement’ to other individuals that shows that the crying person is not a threat.

There could also be a hormonal benefit to shedding emotional tears, as apparently this kind of tear contains higher levels of hormones that might build up during stress.