Ok here's my crying story. I was 6, when I last cried in front of anyone. (long and traumatic story) After that, I only cried if I was alone. It was hard but somehow I learned to suppress those emotions very deeply. One of my first sessions with T.... I "shocked him" by asking him what would happen if I cried? He casually pointed to the tissues and I stopped him and I was like "No, I mean, are you gonna yell at me or laugh?" He could not believe that I even thought that. He said "Absolutely not, that never even crossed my mind, in fact, I might cry with you"

Forward a few months when my dog got cancer and I started to talk about how would I handle losing him and we discussed crying more. He and I talked quite a bit about what would be the best reaction for me and made some "plans" for it.

1 week after he died, I had a session. This was 6 months and 1 week after I began therapy. I brought in a letter I wrote to my dog and read it, I began sobbing and he responded beautifully. More than I could have ever dreamed. That was the first time in my life that I felt "Normal" and ok for crying. I didn't cry much in therapy in general but I was able to even look him dead in the eye and cry a few times after that. I cried with him on our phone calls. It just became easy for me. For sure progress.

Then he left in December and I shut down.... In Jan things got really bad and I decided I need to try therapy again and I walked in, first session with a man I never met and just sat down and cried. I wasn't phased in the slightest and I realized as I left... I never could have done that without T. Very much progress. I have cried with baby T 2x and back up T 2x. I think it's also huge progress that I don't feel the "urge" to apologize for it. I think everyone is different, there is no right or wrong for crying. I remember those first 6 months with T, I was so jealous of all his clients who could easily cry. I wanted a moment with him like that. I thought something was terribly wrong with me.

At any rate.... for some it's just more normal and natural. That's ok. It doesn't always have to be a measure of progress, sometimes it's just being yourself. I am very much the same person I've always been with crying in regards to no way I'd cry in front of family or friends but I've become someone who doesn't care at all if I cry in therapy.