This post was updated Sept. 24 at 7:55 p.m.

I am convinced that I am allergic to crying.

The minute the tears start falling and the salty water touches my skin, my face explodes. It swells and expands, reddens and darkens. I used to despise my lack of a poker face, the way my emotions always seemed to want to betray me.

That is, until I learned that perhaps this self-proclaimed allergy does not always need to be feared and rather has some beneficial side effects.

Let’s start with answering the question as to why we cry. Believe it or not, crying due to feelings of emotion is an experience entirely unique to humans.

While this fact should have comforted me, I still often felt that others in my own community seemed to be made of steel, while I was made of sand, easily washed away by the tide.

However, I soon came to discover that crying actually helps to restore emotional equilibrium, according to researchers at Yale University. Tears arrive in an attempt to respond to heightened feelings with the goal of alleviating tension.

I know I have responded several times when people asked why I was crying by saying I was simply feeling overwhelmed. Such a sentiment makes a lot of sense if crying is merely our bodies’ way of restoring emotional balance.

Everyone has their preferences when it comes to this type of passionate exertion. Some may desire to cry into a pillow in their room, others may do it in the arms of a loved one or best friend. Either way, I now recognize the importance of allowing yourself to shed a few tears once in a while.

Forcing yourself to refrain from crying on a regular basis can lead to increased stress levels and anxiety. In fact, allowing your body the opportunity to cry when needed has been shown to produce more emotional regulation and resilience over time in such individuals.

While I will be the first to tell you that I have cried into my roommates’ shoulders countless times when feeling down or helpless, that is not the only reason I, and so many others, cry.

I have cried from pure joy when watching Taylor Swift perform the opening song during her Eras Tour. I have cried at 2 a.m. on the couch with my cousin, laughing to the point of hysteria at an inside joke that no one else would understand. I cry almost on command anytime someone mentions the characters Allie and Noah from the movie “The Notebook.” I cried from the adrenaline of opening my UCLA acceptance letter.

Happiness. Humor. Nostalgia. Relief. These are all emotions that can inspire the human body to respond by crying.

The evidence is mounting that tears trigger societal connection and human bonding, neither of which is something to be feared but rather things to be embraced.

I have found myself in tears during some of my highest highs, but also my lowest lows. Yet it is in these moments that my connections with those around me have grown even stronger.

On closer inspection, it appears that this seemingly individual phenomenon is actually quite interpersonal. Humans often cry when another human cries, especially if that person is someone close to them.

This powerful catalyst of empathy has allowed the human species to become more attuned to understanding the level of compassion needed by others and fostered a greater understanding of our own emotional needs.

Thus, I am here to propose a new notion. Rather than classifying myself as allergic to crying, perhaps I should be attributing myself as simply human.

I used to view getting sympathy from someone because my eyes were red and puffy as pity, evidence that I wasn’t strong enough to handle whatever emotion I was feeling on my own. Now, I have come to understand crying as an opportunity to feel for both ourselves and for others.

I encourage everyone to have a good cry once in a while and to not be ashamed of it.

Take it from someone who wears her heart on her sleeve: It is totally worth an hour or two of puffy eyes if what’s left behind is the beauty of social connection and human nature.