Sometimes you need a good belly laugh. And sometimes you really just need a good long cry. You might do both of those things in therapy. However, you might also reap the benefits of laughing and crying in many other places in the San Francisco Bay Area. Are some places better than others for these things? We asked our California therapists to tell us what they recommend as the best places to laugh and to cry in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Best Places to Laugh in San Francisco
Need a good laugh? Many of our therapists recommended all of the local comedy performances here in the Bay Area, but there are also some other great ideas:
- Any dog park, suggests therapist Erma Kyriakos
- “The Bay Area Discovery Museum- if you go alone and watch the little kids who are there, someone will do something silly and spontaneous, two key ingredients to laughter!” – Therapist Ingrid Tsong’s recommendation
- Go see “Mortified: people share their childhood diaries, letters, lyrics, and home movies in front of an audience of strangers. Hilarious, wacky, and relatable,” according to therapist Elizabeth Dausch
- Therapist Stephanie Bain recommends Man Haters comedy show at White Horse in Oakland.
- California therapist Chris Swayne recommends the appropriately named Cheaper Than Therapy comedy.
- Therapist Julia Ward suggests BATS (Bay Area Theatre Sports) for improv shows and classes at Fort Mason.
- Therapist Odessa Avianna Perez reminds us that anywhere there are friends is a good place to laugh
And finally, a great tip from California therapist Io Bones: “The last place you found a laugh. If it works, do it again.”
Best Places to Cry in San Francisco
Feel a good cry coming on? Here are the best places to cry in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to our therapists, most of whom recommend the area’s beautiful nature spots:
- At the ocean, recommends therapist Erma Kyriakos
- Lands End Trail, just past the labyrinth where it descends into a tiny hidden beach. Sometimes there are wildflowers there, according to therapist Odessa Avianna Perez
- Similarly, therapist Ayala Kalisher says, “I love a good cathartic cry on a hike in the Oakland or Berkeley hills. You can usually pop off the trail just enough to get some privacy and have a good long cry while taking in an expansive view.”
- On a quiet trail in the woods, therapist Ingrid Tsong’s current favorite is Riverfront Park in Sonoma County
- Elizabeth Dausch recommends “having a cry during a movie at The Roxie or New Parkway theaters.” Therapist Chris Swayne also mentioned movie theaters as a good place for crying.
- East Bay therapist Stephanie Bain recommends Monument View Cemetery in Oakland for your tears.
- While Odessa Avianna Perez recommended laughing with friends, therapist Dana Ehrlich reminds us, “Crying in the company of friends can be really healing and supportive too. It’s sometimes nice to have a witness and can show others that it’s okay to let their guards’ down as well.”
- Therapist Colette Mercier also recommends crying with friends but adds that bathtubs are often a good place to cry.
- Similar to those therapists, therapist Io Bones recommends crying, “In the arms of someone who loves you.”
- And while therapist Erma Kyriakos recommended the dog park for a laugh, therapist Julia Ward reminds us that crying with a pet can be really comforting because “they just get us.”
Therapist Sofia Escudero also chose a nature spot: one of the benches in Cesar Chavez Park overlooking the bay. However, she goes on to add that “the real answer is to cry wherever you need to and wherever you feel safe enough to do so. Maybe that’s your own home or somewhere private, but maybe not.” Cry where you need to cry.
We hope that these recommendations are helpful for you. And we hope that they help you see the humanity in our therapists. Check out our therapist directory today to find the therapist who is best for you.