There’s nothing fairly like the sentiments of elation, launch, and tranquility that observe an unbelievable orgasm, whether or not you climaxed with somebody you’re actually into or throughout a satisfying solo session. So then why do a few of us inexplicably cry after orgasm, even when the expertise is nice? What’s occurring within the physique that may result in such divergent reactions?
One 2020 survey of 223 girls and 76 males discovered that almost 92% of individuals reported having an emotional response after intercourse over the course of 4 weeks. Girls have been most definitely to report temper swings and unhappiness, whereas males reported decreased vitality and unhappiness. And practically 34% of those folks mentioned they solely skilled these emotions after orgasm.
“Throughout orgasm, we’re in a physique and thoughts trance or move expertise,” Sari Cooper, LCSW, AASECT-certified intercourse therapist, director of the Heart for Love and Intercourse, and founding father of teaching program Intercourse Esteem, tells SELF. “An individual could also be reminded of hurts, disappointments, or fears of separation by means of this intensely bonding expertise.”
For many individuals, crying after orgasm is nothing greater than a stunning and fleeting response. However for some, it could possibly be signaling deeper feelings which are begging to be explored. Right here’s what you must take into account if this occurs to you.
First, let’s recap the science. What’s occurring within the physique while you orgasm?
An orgasm is a full-body expertise, nevertheless it actually begins along with your mind, per the Sexual Drugs Society of North America. When any a part of the genitals—the clitoris, vagina, penis, or prostate—is stimulated, your nerves ship indicators to your mind. Researchers have discovered that the thalamus—a mind construction that’s concerned with sensory, reminiscence, and emotional processing—“helps combine details about contact an individual receives, motion they’re concerned with, and any sexual reminiscences or fantasies they give thought to to assist them attain orgasm,” Cooper says.
Throughout orgasm, the mind releases chemical substances to spice up blood move to the genitals, which basically amps up the pleasure issue; bodily pressure down there’s additionally relieved by means of a sequence of fierce muscle contractions. In the meantime, your mind can be flooding your system with “feel-good” hormones; oxytocin brings up emotions of belief and intimacy, whereas prolactin generates the sensations of heat and satiation that we are inclined to affiliate with orgasm, Cooper explains.
So, why do some folks cry after orgasm?
There are heaps of causes you would possibly cry after orgasm, Cooper says, together with each the hormonal cascade attributable to the orgasm itself and your particular person emotional response to it.
Although crying is seen as an indication of unhappiness, getting teary-eyed after orgasm might, sarcastically sufficient, be linked to a way of euphoria—for instance, while you really feel a launch of built-up emotional pressure if it’s been a very long time because you climaxed with a associate. It might additionally simply be an indication of your sympathetic nervous system “coming down” from a robust bodily expertise, Cooper says. This set of nerves is accountable for your physique’s automated features, like your coronary heart price and blood stress; it helps ship extra blood to sure elements of your physique in intense conditions—together with your genitals throughout orgasm.