It is really amazing how much better a person can feel just by talking it out. Sometimes, all people need is someone to listen without judgment. Someone who understands, or who at least tries extremely hard to see where you are coming from.

Over the years, I have tried a lot of things when I was feeling bogged down emotionally. I would cry. I would try to avoid the situation. I would go upstate to my parents house by the lake. I would write in my journal. I would write on this blog vaguely. I would exercise a ton. I would binge. I would sit at the computer listening to music for hours on end. I would only want to be around my dogs because they represent simplicity (the thing I wished my life was filled with.)

There have been a few situations recently where I have tried to do a combination of some of the things I mentioned above but the reality is very simple.

I always feel better when I just talk it out.

It is obviously important that you have someone (or multiple people) in your life who you feel safe with. You aren’t going to feel better about whatever issues you are struggling with if you just rant nonstop to strangers. Although, sometimes, just the act of venting and letting out your frustrations and fears can be extremely therapeutic in and of itself.

But, if you are faced with a situation that is causing you emotions related to another person, you need to talk it out with that person. Or if you cannot (and sometimes you just can’t for whatever reason), talk it out with a therapist or someone completely unrelated to the situation. Certain situations can never get better until you bring emotions out to the surface. You aren’t going to solve any issues or put some of your feelings related to a set of circumstances if you run from it, even though I know we have all been guilty of that once or twice.

The act of expunging some of the emotions and feelings that are eating away at you is incredibly powerful. For me, I usually need to talk it through, cry and then I move on. That is how it works for me and over many years of dealing with a physical illness that caused me emotional pain in many areas of my life, I have learned that is how my brain generally works.

Your brain is a complex organ that can play tricks on you. It can make you believe things are worse or more overwhelming than they actually are. That is why I am a firm believer in the power of talking.