We asked an expert about post-orgasm waterworks.
Welcome to the new BuzzFeed Sex Q&A where you can ask us your awkward, confusing, gross, embarrassing, or thought-provoking questions, and we'll provide answers from leading sexual health experts. Have a question about sex or sexual health? Send it to sexQs@buzzfeed.com.
This week's question:
Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed
Q: I occasionally have sex (intercourse) with my loving, supportive boyfriend of four years. However, oftentimes post-orgasm I feel very emotional and often tear up or cry for no apparent reason. Is this normal? Am I just emotionally screwed up? Is there anything I can do to fix this?
—Sad Sex
Hi, Sad Sex, and thanks so much for sending along your question. To help answer it, we spoke with sex researcher Debby Herbenick, Ph.D., author of Because It Feels Good, and associate professor at Indiana University's School of Public Health. Here's what she had to say:
There's definitely nothing wrong with you! And actually, this isn't that uncommon.
"This is something we're all aware happens," says Herbenick. But unfortunately, there's no good research on why it happens. We can't really explain why some people cry and others don't, or why it only happens to people every once in a while. "Just like we don't know why people cry when they see a cute puppy commercial," says Herbenick. Some experts blame it on the hormones released at orgasm, but that doesn't really explain why it only happens occasionally and only to certain people.
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