How to Make Yourself Cry: 11 Expert-Backed Ways to Trigger Tears

Ever wonder how your favorite dramatic actor delivers those moving and tearful performances on camera, somehow embodying the pain of their fictional characters? Whether you yourself are an actor or you need to work up a few tears to sell a convincing sob story, knowing how to cry on cue can be a useful skill. You may want to learn to cry for mental health purposes, as well—some people struggle to connect with their emotions enough to have a good, therapeutic cry. We can help you with that, too. Keep reading to learn how to cry on the spot, with expert tips from acting coaches and a developmental psychologist.

Easy Ways to Cry on Command

Hold your eyes open for a long time. This will make your eyes dry out, eventually leading to tears.
Use cut pieces of raw onion to stimulate tears. Bringing them close to your eyes will make them tear up.
Think about times you felt sad in the past. Harness the emotion of a sad memory to make you cry in the present.

Section 1 of 3:

How to Make Your Eyes Tear Up

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Hold your eyes open as long as you can. Keeping your eyes open will dry them out and cause them to sting. Eventually, the dryness will trigger your eyes to start watering, so try not to blink until you feel tears start to form.^{[1]
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- If you’re near a fan, try to stand so that the air is blowing into your eyes, which can make them water.
- If you can stare at a bright light, your eyes will water even faster.
- Stay hydrated. If you don’t have enough water in your system, you won’t be able to produce tears.
Meet the wikiHow Experts

Greg James Blount is an acting coach with over 30 years in the talent industry.

Leslie Bosch, PhD is a Developmental Psychologist with over 15 years of experience.

Ben Whitehair is an acting coach and social media and entertainment expert with over a decade of experience.
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Rub your eyes. Close your eyes and gently rub your eyelids for about 25 seconds, then open your eyes and stare at something until the tears start rolling. This might take a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, it can work wonders. Rubbing your eyes can help redden the complexion around your eye area, too, but don’t rub too hard or you could injure your eyes.^{[2]
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- Lightly place your pointer finger up to your one of your pupils. This will cause your eye to become irritated, and it may lead to tears. Be careful not to poke yourself in the eye, though.
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Bite the inside of your lip. A little pain can often bring tears to your eyes, and if you need to cry on command, you can use that to your advantage. This trick is especially useful if you bite your lip while you’re already thinking of something sad.^{[3]
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- Try holding your breath as you bite the inside of your mouth, which could focus your senses on the pain.
- You can also pinch yourself hard on a sensitive part of your body, like on your thigh or in the space between your thumb and pointer finger.
- Don't bite too hard. You don't want to make your lip bleed!
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Apply a tear-producing substance under your eyes. Copy the Hollywood stars and gently rub a mentholated tear stick under your eyes. It may sting, but it's going to be very realistic. However, be very careful about not getting any in your eyes as that can damage your vision.^{[4]
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- You can also use eye drops to make it look like your face is tear-stained. Just place them right below the corner of your eyes so they believably run down your face.
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Cut open an onion. Cutting an unwashed onion is very effective in provoking tears. This method is probably best for plays though since it will be difficult to convince someone you’re sincerely crying if you pull out an onion and start cutting it before the waterworks flow!^{[5]
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- If you can escape to another room, grab a few slices of onion, and take a whiff close to your face. When your eyes start to water, return to the conversation.
Yawning will make your eyes water and if you yawn enough then you will shed some tears. Try to hide your forced yawning with something that covers your mouth. You can also yawn without opening your mouth to make it more believable. Make sure not to overdo it. By overdoing it, you make it look fake.
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Think sad thoughts. If you need to cry on command, thinking of a time when you felt sad can help put you in the right frame of mind for tears. For example, it may help to think back to the loss of a loved one or a particularly bad breakup. Acting Coach & Director of Talent Development Greg James Blount says, “I have to use my life experience and my memory recall to be able to look back at my life and make that memory come to this moment right now,” he explains.^{[6]
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Greg James Blount
Acting Coach & Director of Talent Development

Expert Interview}
- You can also use your imagination to create a sad scenario in your head, either drawing upon your real fears and insecurities or completely making something up.
- For example, a common exercise in acting classes is to imagine yourself as a small child whom no one cares for.^{[7]
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- Acting coach Ben Whitehair suggests that you make a “sad music playlist “on Spotify or another streaming app.^{[8]
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  Ben Whitehair
  Acting Coach
  
  Expert Interview}
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Cry happy tears if you don’t want to feel sad. Try imagining things that make your eyes fill up with happy tears, like a time someone gave you a meaningful gift, veterans being reunited with their families, or someone triumphing in the face of adversity. For example, Whitehair shares that sometimes, he will “watch an inspiring video on YouTube,” and it'll get him “choked up,” which is exactly what we want!^{[9]
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Ben Whitehair
Acting Coach

Expert Interview}
- As long as you’re not smiling, no one will be able to tell if you’re crying happy or sad tears.
- If you're thinking of something sad, try not to do this too often, as it can take a toll on your mental health. Instead of pulling emotions from your own experiences, try and put yourself entirely into character.^{[10]
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Section 2 of 3:

Mastering a Tearful Performance

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Make a crying face. This usually involves closing your eyes and scrunching your face up a little – simply imagine yourself through the motions by remembering what your face feels like when you do actually cry. If you’re not sure what it looks like, look in the mirror and pretend you’re crying, then pay attention to how the muscles in your face feel. Try not to twist your face into a weird position that feels uncomfortable; instead, relax the muscles in your face.
- Turn the corners of your lips down a little.
- Try to force the inner corners of your eyebrows upwards.
- Wrinkle up your chin like people do right before they start bawling. This may look fake if you overdo it, so try to be subtle.
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Focus on your breathing. The breathing is part of what convinces people that you're upset. Start sobbing by making crying noises and take deep breaths as you do so. Breathe in constantly as if you are hyperventilating. Occasionally, add a small hitch in your breathing to sound more authentic.^{[11]
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- If nobody can see you (or if everyone is blind around you), run on the spot for several minutes to cause yourself to be out of breath. This will also help to create the blotchy complexion often associated with crying.
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Lower your head or cover your face to seem more realistic. Once you have the eyes tearing, the crying face, and the hyper breathing going, you can add a few finishing touches, like covering your face with your hands, resting your head on a table, or hanging your head to seem like you’re sad.
- You could also bite your lip as if you're trying hard to stop the tears.
- Look away, trying to pretend you're not crying to pull off a double bluff!
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Add a whine to your voice to sound like you’re crying. When you're crying, your vocal cords tighten. This leads to the thick or whiny sounds you make when you try to talk while you're crying. Aim to stutter your words and add in long intakes of breath to add to the effect. However, don't make it too dramatic or obvious because whoever you are trying to convince may be suspicious. Make it seem like you do not want to be crying in front of them; appear a little embarrassed. You could even apologize for crying.
- This is basically "mind over matter," and the more you act it out, the more your body will acquiesce to produce the effect you're after.
If you want to be able to cry on command, you need to relax, breathe, and focus on the reason you’re supposed to be crying. By tuning out any distractions, you will be able to dig deeper into the emotions that you’re portraying.^{[12]
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Bury your face in your hands and laugh if you don't feel sad. It can sometimes be hard to tell if someone is laughing or crying if they do it correctly. While your face is in your hands, shake your shoulders and try to make your eyes a little red by rubbing them hard with your hands, and don't smile when you take your hands away.
- This works best on a stage when people are not close enough to see tears or your face in close detail.
- Make sure you don’t make any sounds, or you could give away that you’re laughing! If you do accidentally laugh out loud, try to follow it with a crying sound like a whimper or a sob, but don’t overdo it.

Section 3 of 3:

Making Yourself Cry For Emotional Regulation

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Work on connecting with your emotions to have a good cry. Crying doesn’t come easily to everyone, and some people diagnosed with mental health disorders can’t cry at all. This is due to emotional numbness, which helps them cope with past trauma. There are physical benefits to shedding a few tears, as well, because they relieve stress and flush out toxins. Developmental psychologist Leslie Bosch, PhD says, “You need to allow yourself to feel the emotions [and] cry. Because if you try to repress your emotions, it'll just take longer, and they won't just go away by themselves.”^{[13]
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Leslie Bosch, PhD
Developmental Psychologist

Expert Interview} So, if you’re struggling to cry, give the following ideas a try:^{[14]
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- Watch a sad film or listen to sad music. Although this one sounds like a no-brainer, consuming melancholy media can set you right over the emotional edge.
  - Films like Titanic (1997), The Notebook (2004), and The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) are all notorious tearjerkers, and watching them could help you weep away.
  - Try streaming a “sad song” playlist on Spotify or create your own on your preferred music app.
- Think back on sad life experiences. Blount offers the example of remembering the death of his beloved Greyhound dog, and teaches others how to use this technique by asking them to identify “exactly where you were, what happened, what you were wearing,” and other key details.^{[15]
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  Greg James Blount
  Acting Coach & Director of Talent Development
  
  Expert Interview}
  - Look back at old photos and try to remember what it felt like to be those ages and the things going on in your life at that time. It could be a loved one’s passing, a terrible breakup, or not getting accepted into your dream school.
- Go through the motions of crying. Some research suggests that simulating laughter can lead to real laughter, and even better, the brain doesn’t know the difference. This method can also be applied to crying. Make a frown, place your head in your hands, and shake your shoulders. You can trick the tears into coming!^{[16]
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Expert Q&A

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Question

How can I make myself cry in a play?

Ben Whitehair
Social Media Expert
Ben Whitehair is a Social Media Expert and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of TSMA Consulting. With over a decade of experience in the social media space, he specializes in leveraging social media for business and building relationships. He also focuses on social media’s impact on the entertainment industry. Ben graduated summa cum laude from The University of Colorado at Boulder with BAs in Theatre and Political Science as well as a Leadership Certificate. In addition to his work as CIO, Ben is a certified business and mindset coach and Executive Vice President of SAG-AFTRA. He is also a successful entrepreneur as the Co-Founder of Working.Actor, the premier business academy and coaching community for actors.

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Expert Answer

If the stage directions are to cry, what they're really saying is that it's an emotional moment. And having an honest, emotional moment is really what matters more than if you have a tear. You don't want to force yourself to cry when you're not being authentic as a character. That's actually not what they're looking for. What they're really communicating is, "Hey, this is an emotional moment." So tapping into the authenticity of what that character is going for is more important than specifically shedding a tear.

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Thinking of sad things doesn't work for me. What else can I try?

Ben Whitehair
Social Media Expert
Ben Whitehair is a Social Media Expert and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of TSMA Consulting. With over a decade of experience in the social media space, he specializes in leveraging social media for business and building relationships. He also focuses on social media’s impact on the entertainment industry. Ben graduated summa cum laude from The University of Colorado at Boulder with BAs in Theatre and Political Science as well as a Leadership Certificate. In addition to his work as CIO, Ben is a certified business and mindset coach and Executive Vice President of SAG-AFTRA. He is also a successful entrepreneur as the Co-Founder of Working.Actor, the premier business academy and coaching community for actors.

Ben Whitehair

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Expert Answer

Personally, I like listening to a Spotify playlist with songs that make me feel emotional. And I actually will sometimes watch an inspiring video on YouTube, and that will make me choke up.

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Tips

Try blinking really fast; sometimes this produces tears.

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Try crying along to a movie where the actor is crying, for practice.

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If you're having trouble getting yourself to cry, sometimes it's better not to cry, but to act like you're fighting back the tears. Sometimes people are touched more by this, especially if you're viewed as a "tough" person. This can also make your performance more believable, because it comes across as being more vulnerable.

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The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Listen to a song that makes you cry or read a sad part in a story.

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Warnings

Remember: fake crying for the purpose of manipulating others is more often than not considered deceptive, disingenuous, and frowned upon. Use this skill with caution and discernment, and try not to harm others in any way.

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If someone close to you learns that your tears were forced, they could feel hurt and offended and not want to continue being your friend.

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Never look into the sun to try to get your eyes to water. During most hours of the day, the sun emits enough radiation to ruin your vision!

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