Venting, if you’re unfamiliar with the term, typically involves a person unloading their stresses, anguish or frustration with a given situation via conversation with someone. It is something probably all of us have engaged with at some point or another, and a lot of us associate the concept of venting with positivity; getting things off of our chests is a healthy practice, so why would we give the notion of venting second thought?
I am someone who vents to my family, close friends and Blaine when things are truly bothering me. For me, personally, I find the practice of venting to be therapeutic in a way, because in sharing my frustrations with someone else, I feel as though the weight or burden of them is alleviated in a way.
After venting to my family recently about a rather constant source of stress and annoyance in my life, they informed me that unloading on them frequently isn’t so great for them as individuals. And, really, their stance makes sense; when we commonly vent to the same person or people, it is understandable that our own stresses become theirs, and by constantly drawing attention to negativity and unpleasant events, it can be difficult to remain neutral or positive as an outsider looking in on the scenario.
I’ll be honest and admit that when my family initially explained this to me I was a little hurt. I felt as though I wasn’t able to share inconveniences in my own life with them because it was becoming a hindrance to their own mental health, but after some self-reflection and realistic thinking, I realized that my family is absolutely correct in this situation.
Venting can be a healthy practice, within reason. It shouldn’t be something that we dabble with on a daily basis, and it certainly shouldn’t always involve the same people on the receiving end of our verbal diarrhea. Venting is essentially a practice to benefit the person doing the venting, not so much for the people listening.
ontheedgeofeverything 