Relief

I’m all in favor of venting to someone, whether it’s a friend, a family member, a therapist, etc. There is certainly nothing wrong with it.

Back in high school, I talked to a social worker for about two years and periodically talked to her throughout college and even after that. It helped to get a lot of things off my chest and weight off my shoulders.

What helped even more, was confronting the person I had a problem with. That is what the social worker taught me and I think that was the best advice given to me.

If you are stressed out about a situation, why wouldn’t you want to talk to the person who’s causing you to worry? By thinking about it consistently, getting angry and all worked up, you’re causing more harm to yourself.

Even if you confront the person, and it does not go as planned, it’s fine. The important part is that it is out in the open, it was said; do not have regrets. Do not bottle up your emotions. You may say, “I wasn’t bottling it up; I talked to my best friend about it.” It is still considered holding back your feelings and concerns because you have wanted to say so many things directly to this certain someone, but you didn’t. You probably held back because you were afraid of it escalating into an argument. Maybe you thought it was pointless because you knew you could never get through to that person; it was like talking to a brick wall.

I say it is still worth a shot. It is buried in the back of your brain, whether you like to believe it or not. Don’t give yourself anxiety; face the person. You will feel some sort of relief.