Crying After Sex, An Investigation: Why Do People Do It

Sex is easy enough to understand.  You undress, you touch, you hump, you climax.  However, that's not to say that nothing else can sneak its way in.  Take for instance the people who cry after sex.  Even when they're having a grand ol' time, something happens and they just can't help themselves.  First, the orgasm starts flowing, and then the tears start flowing.  Basically, it's an all around hot mess, but it happens.  So let's find out why. Keep reading to discover the reasons why some people cry right after sex.

Sexy love tears. When you’re having sex, your emotions are shooting through the roof. Mostly, you’re happy, so your reactions are typically those of happiness, elation, excitement, awe… But for some people, the reactions are significantly different. For some people, there is less noticeable happiness and more crying.

Cry babies. If you cry after having sex, you’re not crazy. You’re not being dramatic. It doesn’t work like that. Crying after sex is actually much more common than it may seem, and plenty of people all over the world can attest to that. In fact, according to an online survey via The Huffington Post, a couple hundred women can definitely attest to it.

The scientific term for crying after sex. When (or if) you cry after sex, what you’re experiencing is something called postcoital dysphoria (PCD). Even if you’ve only ever cried once after sex, you’ve experienced it. In fact, for most people, that’s how many times it happens — even though, if it happens more than once, there’s nothing wrong with you. So, don’t worry.

Happy tears. A study published in the journal “Sexual Medicine” explored how common postcoital dysphoria is, so they reached out to 230 female college students and asked them about their experience with sex crying. As it turns out, according to the students, it’s far less rare than it may seem.

Crying college students. In the survey, it turns out that 46 percent of the 230 women have cried after sex. Which is essentially half of them. Now, while a much smaller percentage cry after sex on a more frequent basis… it still does happen.

The smaller bracket. It turns out that five percent of the women who responded to the story experience PCD more than once. They said that within the past four weeks, they’ve cried after sex a handful of times. So, if you happen to sleep with someone who cries afterwards, it probably doesn’t mean they hate you. Probably.

Normal, but hardly explored. Now, even though it’s perfectly normal if you cry after sex, that’s not to say that it’s a subject that’s filled with much information. As interesting as it may be, it’s something that few people have really bothered exploring. So, we’ll need some researchers to get more stats before we get a more definite understanding of it.

Understanding it. OK, so now that we’re well aware that it’s more common than it may seem, can we at least explore why it even happens? What is going on inside someone’s head to force them into a bout of tears after an experience that’s meant to be solely about pleasure?

Triggered. PCD can happen due to various emotional triggers that happen during sex, even though nothing has truly been confirmed. It could be caused from being overjoyed or simply overstressed, or it could be for far less positive reasons.

The hormone rush. When you have sex, your body is working on overdrive. Your emotions are spiking because your hormones are out of control because you just got laid. It’s really that simple, for the most part. Your body doesn’t know how else to respond to how happy you are, that it forces you to break down in tears.

When it happens. So, if you’re a postcoital crier, don’t apologize to your partner, just explain it. However, if your partner is the crier, then definitely don’t judge them. This is just how their bodies react. The same goes for men who cry, because even though it may be more common in women, men are not exempt.

Sexual abuse. Though nothing on this topic has been confirmed yet, The Huffington Post considers the tie between PCD and childhood sexual abuse to be a “weak correlation.” With that being said, it is still a subject that some researchers consider worth exploring, even if it doesn’t seem likely.

Happy or sad. Now, even though your body can react after sex by crying, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not happy. However, with PCD, that’s exactly what it could mean. Some of the symptoms can include feeling sad, feeling anxious or even feeling all around angry.

Reaching a wider audience. As of now, studies on PCD need to reach a much wider audience. Simply interviewing 230 female college students who are predominantly white and averaging around 25 years old just isn’t going to cut it if we want to understand the trigger in PCD.

Different studies. Other studies have found alternative estimates to the one taken at the college. In these studies, the average amount of women who experience PCD ranges between 7.7 and roughly 40 percent of women.