Why did I become more emotional and cry more as I get older?

 

Dear Bloggers,

I have noticed that as I have aged (now 56), I cry so much more easily than I did when I was younger. I wonder why this is, as in my teenage years, not to mention my twenties, I could watch the most depressing programs, and although I cared, I was rarely inclined to break down in tears.

As a child, I would watch the Lassie films, and yes, I did cry to those, (especially "Lassie Come Home"), but apart from that, and the normal things children cry over, such as falling over and cutting open their knees, or getting in trouble with my Mum, I seldom cried at all. It was only when I hit my fifties I suddenly seemed to undergo some kind of metamorphosis, and now I can easily end up in floods of tears over a sad movie, or a murder case on Forensic Detectives. Does this mean I am losing the plot, or is this normal?

These days I can cry over the silliest things, such as watching an episode of "Undercover Boss", (where the Ceo of a company goes undercover in a part of his company to find out what is going on on the work floor, Where he finds good employees, that have their heartbreaking life stories and at the end of a week or so, he or she will reveal who he or she is and donates sometimes large sums of money or a family holiday to the stories he or she felt the most deserving of his or her help).

I break down in tears over people dying in a great movie for Christ's sake, yet this is not logical when I know it is only an actor, who undergoes a rapid recovery as soon as the cameras are switched off.

Even watching programs such as "Extreme Makeover Home Edition", can leave me in the right state, as I feel so touched by the people who put in the money, time, and effort to build these people a new home that is far nicer than any home most of us could hope for.

Does this mean something is wrong with me? If so, what? I mean, this never used to happen to me, I’ve always been that tough guy who wasn’t able to show the outside world his emotional side, but now I seem to have suddenly become a changed person, and I don't even mind the fact I cry so easily, as to me it shows I have compassion and care about others, The first time that I broke up was when a young girlfriend all of sudden was ripped out of our lives. I had never known emotions like this before and it was unfair to me and the rest of the world. When my parents passed away there were some tears but not that many somehow I became numb to this kind of thing. My so-called military brain was not allowing it to have any feelings. (not to say I didn't before, but now it makes me break down in tears in a way I never felt the need to before).

Hell, I even cry over seeing mistreated, starved dogs being brought back to health and being re-homed in programs like "The Dog Whisperer" with Ceasar Milan.

I can cry over "The X Factor" when I hear the story of someone who has suffered such great hardship in their lives and is also a fantastic singer, and now is their chance to make something of themselves. When they get through I feel their emotion as if it were my own, and so want them to do well in the following rounds.

If someone shows me kindness or empathizes with a situation I am in, like the situation I am in with the Dutch Tax Office as they f**ked up my family's lives by doing us wrong and left us broke, I end up tearful. If I see someone else lose a loved one I cry. If I even contemplate the ultimate death of my currently living friends, I can break down and cry. Even if I know that there is no future left to live. It is still something sad when you remember the good old days out at sea.

So is it something about getting older, and if so, what, hormones? Seen too much? Learned living the hard way? I don't know the answer, but I think I like myself better for being this way as it proves to me I do have feelings that matter and that I care for everyone and everything.

The Old Sailor,