Who can forget Kapil Dev weeping copiously during a primetime interview with the BBC as accusations of match-fixing were flung on him? India's greatest sporting icon cried inconsolably irrespective of the fact that he was watched by millions of television viewers not only in India but all over the world. You may have felt sorry for the cricket legend or you may have thought he was being over emotional. But the fact is Kapil Dev was a relieved man after emptying his tear glands. That's because crying is a great stress reliever. Crying helps you unburden your mind and gets rid of all the tension and hurt that has been bothering you.

To be a successful politician in the 19th century, you had to be able to weep on the stump. If you could not weep at the proper places you were a lousy orator. But perceptions changed in 1968 when Edmund Muskie was drilled out of the presidential race for crying. Weeping was deemed as unacceptable. But today who can forget the tear-streaked faces of Bob Dole or Bill Clinton, who is famous for being caught on camera crying.

Almost everyone has some questions and confusion about crying. How much crying is enough? If I start crying will I ever be able to stop? Do I have to cry at all? Can I cry if I feel like it or am I going to be thought of as a weakling? I wish I were a woman at least I could cry and let it all out?

In fact, boys are conditioned by birth not to display their emotions. They are told that crying is for wimps and so they tend to bottle up their emotions and put up a stoic front. However, there is no better therapy than crying. Learn to let go and cry your eyes out. Crying acts as a short-term energy relieving action, and relieves, temporarily, some of the emotional energy that is generated by the loss that you may be experiencing. Cry to release the physiological tension resulting from the trauma. Crying also removes excess stress- related chemicals from the body and restores the body's chemical balance after a stressful event has occurred.

Weeping must not be taken as a sign of weakness. A denial of your feelings will only make recovery longer and painful. All of us experience emotions of happiness, love, pain, sadness, and grief. While most of us do have the courage to experience and express them by, laughing or crying to our hearts content and letting out our feelings there are many who suppress these emotions. Despite society's tendency to repress emotion, expressing sadness and grief can be very therapeutic. And if you bottle up your emotions, then sooner or later you will reach saturation point and explode.

Yet on the other hand do not be fooled by those who cry all the time. People can actually use crocodile tears to gain unnecessary sympathy. However, all of us are unique and different in the way we deal with our emotions. Do not let anyone else dictate what is emotionally correct for you. If you feel like crying, go ahead and relieve yourself, get rid of all that is bottled up inside you. Man or woman, let your guard down, be hugged and comforted and weep like a willow.