Need a Good Cry? Try your Car.

You've had a long day. You got absolutely no recognition for the hours of work you put into the presentation at work, you were looked over by your boss for a promotion, and you got into a fight with your partner this morning. Packing up to go home, you dropped your phone in the parking garage and it broke. You open the door to your car, dump your stuff in the passenger seat and close the door. All of the sudden you feel it coming on - you put your hands on the wheel and slump over onto them in a pile of tears.

Does this sound familiar? Crying in the car is such a universal experience that the Huffington Post recently reached out to Dr. Jordan Conrad, founder and clinical director of Lexington Park Psychotherapy, to ask: why do so many of us break down when we get in the car? In "There's a Reason Why Crying in Your Car Hits Different," Dr. Conrad spoke with reporter Amy Glover to discuss what is it about the car that makes it such a welcome spot for crying.

Dr. Conrad explains that when people are out in the world, they often feel an assumed pressure to be 'on', but when your car feels like an intimate space:

“At work, or in the city, or with family or friends, many people feel they have to be ‘on’ – they have to be presentable or at least put together. But, for many people, one’s car feels like an auxiliary home - it feels private, familiar, and containing. So after a long day or a painful argument, entering your car can feel like entering a private moment.”

The fact that you own the car - that you control who comes and goes - also makes a difference, it makes the space feel safe. Another reason is that a moment naturally occurs - that is, it isn't manufactured or deliberately created - that invites an emotional release: “The fact that after you open it and sit down, there is a moment – after you have closed the door but before you’ve started the engine – where you are alone and separated from the outside world, can give you the emotional space to actually feel whatever has just happened outside,” Dr Conrad explained.

However, crying in your car can also signal something more significant. Many depressed, anxious, and traumatized people who haven't received anxiety therapy, depression therapy, or trauma therapy are particularly prone to fits of crying in uncomfortable situations. People sometimes feel that they have to bottle up their feelings because expressing them in front of others would be embarrassing or painful; some people struggling with depression and low self-esteem find themselves crying in many private moments - in a restaurant bathroom, in the car, when they walk into the apartment after work. If you find yourself crying more than usual, or just more than you want to be, reach out.