Crying is a perfectly normal human emotion, and it's one of the first things babies do when they're born. People cry for all kinds of reasons in response to something they have seen, heard, or thought about, and some studies suggest that it could also be a call for help or support. Crying is a natural instinct, and usually resolves itself in a relative short period of time. However for those people who claim, "I can't stop crying," the issue may be attributed to other underlying causes and conditions.

8 Reasons Why You Can't Stop Crying

Sometimes, people also cry for long periods of time, and is accompanied by other physical symptoms and conditions such as:

1. Hormone Imbalance

• Extreme PMS or PMDD

A severe, sometimes debilitating extension of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), is premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). While PMDD and regular PMS both have emotional and physical symptoms, PMDD can cause intense feelings of hopelessness, extreme moodiness or depression, anxiety with tension, and uncontrollable crying that can damage relationships, and disrupt your work. Typically, PMS and PMDD symptoms start seven to 10 days before beginning your period through the first few days after starting your period.

• Perimenopause or Menopause

Menopause or perimenopause could be the answer to your doubt of "why I can't stop crying". Perimenopause refers to the hormone fluctuations that can occur from two to 10 years before menopause. Women who are still having periods aged 30 to 55, but feel as though something has changed, are probably in perimenopause. It's during this transition to menopause, when their bodies gradually produce less estrogen, and before their ovaries stop releasing eggs altogether during menopause. During the last couple of years during perimenopause and the onset of menopause, symptoms could include moodiness, trouble sleeping, feeling depressed, malaise, and predisposed to long periods of crying.

• Pregnancy

During your first trimester as hormones ramp up, moodiness and crying are a normal part of pregnancy. After all, absorbing the emotional roller-coaster of having a child can take some time for you to adjust. Hormones control almost every aspect of our mental and physical health, and when they fluctuate, they could trigger some intense crying spells. The first few months after conception, estrogen and progesterone hormone levels begin changing dramatically, and have a direct impact on the brain's chemistry that causes you to cry.

• Medication

If you are taking hormonal medication such as birth control pills, and find that, "I can't stop crying over the little things that normally wouldn't affect me in this way," you might need to try a different birth control pill with fewer hormones. Additionally, if you are being treated with hormonal therapy treatments for perimenopause or menopause, and it is creating an imbalance, check with your health care provider to see if changing the dosage helps.

• Underactive Thyroid

Hypothyroidism develops when the thyroid gland fails to produce enough of certain important hormones.The normal balance of chemical reactions in your body is upset by thyroid disease, and it affects twice as many women as it does men. Although hypothyroidism is most common in women who are middle-aged or older,those older than age 60 are more likely to have hypothyroidism. This condition causes your metabolism to slow down, resulting in fatigue, depression, and periods of moodiness that often cause people to cry.

• Ovarian Cysts

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition in which a woman's hormones are out of balance. Many women that have PCOS will grow small cysts on their ovaries. These cysts are not harmful, but create a hormone imbalance in the body that if not treated, over time can lead to other more serious health problems.The cause of PCOS is not fully understood, but genetics may be a factor, and the condition could lead to depression. If you are crying over the most minor issues in life, you might want to see your gynecologist.

2. Mental Issues

• Stress and Anxiety

If you just find that "I can't stop crying" you might be stressed. Although no study has been done that directly observes the relationship between crying and stress, most medical experts agree that higher levels of anxiety are directly related to people crying. Conflict situations tend to elicit more tears, and are a form of interpersonal stress. These situations sometimes help facilitate a resolution to the conflict that caused the reaction in the first place. This crying functions as a call for help or support from others.

• Depression

An increase in crying could be a sign of depression; although, with extreme levels of depression, there is less crying and more emotional exhaustion. Experiencing sadness, numbness, a loss of energy, or appetite all the time is a sign that your depression is deepening and the depression will get worse without treatment. If you think that you may be getting depressed, contact your health care provider for the help you need.

NOTE

Whatever may be wrong, it's important that you make an appointment to see a physician so that the problem is corrected. If you claim, I can't stop crying, and you are depressed, then only a doctor can offer you a prescription and refer you to a cognitive behavior therapist who listens to you describe your episodes of crying. They will be able to suggest to you new ways of thinking to help you cope with the crying episodes.