Dealing with Grief Indirectly

Why do people love sad movies? I've never understood that. I have heard girls on occasion say that they watch _____ when they feel like crying. I've never understood when one would ever feel like crying. Maybe it's just me, but I've never enjoyed crying; it's not a hobby of mine. So I didn't understand in what scenario someone would ever feel like crying. Then just now, I was watching a movie and something occurred to me. Maybe those girls (or just those people) have something going on in their lives which they really need to cry about, but they can't. Whether it's because it hasn't sunk in yet or they are deceiving themselves into thinking it doesn't hurt or for some other reason, they cannot cry about it. So they put in a sad movie and sit and cry over the story. Watching a sad movie in this scenario gives them an outlet, it gives them something else to cry about - something abstract and apart from themselves. It allows them to gain some objectivity about this grief they are feeling, because it allows them to direct it at something besides their own pain. It allows them to finally cry, to relieve (at least partially) the burden of sorrow they are carrying around, for whatever reason.

This may not be the healthiest way to deal with grief, since it is still not facing it head-on and dealing with it, but instead dealing with it very indirectly. It may not be recommendable. But I finally understand it.