Sometimes you just gotta let it out.
Venting can help you:
- Get heavy feelings off your chest
- Feel connected to someone who understands
- Get advice or outside perspective, and make a plan to change something
- Make you feel seen, heard, and cared for
- Put problems in perspective
There can be downsides to venting, too. For example:
- The other person may fuel the flames, and make you even more upset than you were by yourself.
- The other person may not understand or may ignore your feelings, which could make you feel worse.
- Venting too much about the same thing can be hard for a person to keep listening to. And it may not be productive for you either.
- You could be hurting someone else by venting about them.
Try to be sensitive and vent to someone you can trust and who you know is willing to listen.
If venting doesn’t help, there are other ways to deal when you feel overwhelmed:
- Recite a mantra: Remind yourself, “This too will pass” or “Inhale love, exhale gratitude.”
- Journal it out: No filter needed. Write down all your thoughts and feelings.
- Move your body: Get your heart rate up to make anxious feelings go away.
- Breathe: Take slow, deep breaths in—hold it for a few seconds, and then let slow, controlled breaths out.
