Self-Care Sunday: Vent Away!

In this week’s Self-Care Sunday tip, we invite you to vent.

Venting gets a bad rap. Culture says we are supposed to be bright, shiny, positive, grateful people. We are supposed to find the best in everyone! And look on the bright side of things! And make lemonade!

That’s just now always possible or even the right thing to try. 

Venting allows you to process your emotions and figure out what is really bothering you so you can take action and take care of yourself. It is important to wallow and vent and feel your feelings so you can get to the other side of them. If you stuff them, they just live inside of you, bringing you down and degrading your quality of life. 

Of course, it’s important to be strategic about when and where you vent. You don’t want to dump on someone who is already feeling down. You probably don’t want to vent to someone you have resentment towards. And you might not want to vent to someone you don’t know very well. It’s helpful to choose someone who won’t judge or shame you but will help you be constructive about what’s in your control and what you can do to feel better. And make sure the person is in the right headspace before you begin. Allowing someone to vent is a gift we can give, but even the best of us aren’t always in the frame of mind to be up for someone else’s negative emotions. 

All that being said, if you’ve got something to get off your chest, vent to someone who can handle it.

And be sure to come back next week for Part 2 of this blog.