I do not know if this is a shared experience among others my age, but I guess we’ll see!
As a girl who admittedly once in a while overthinks certain life situations, I need to have the ability to get my thoughts out. But, as a girl who hates confrontation and never wants to let people know how much they hurt her, I had to find a solution to this problem.
AHAHA! That little app on my phone titled “Notes”. It is the perfect way to get that finger smashing into the keyboard text feeling but not having to deal with the repercussions of sending it to that person and what that would entail. It is the solution to needing to confront a person but knowing that in reality, you should not.
This is something I recently started to do as part of improving my mental well-being. No matter how good sending an angry text feels in the moment it is in reality a terrible idea, especially without thinking about it for at least a day. This way you’re still going through the motions but not sending it. Anytime I’m overthinking a situation that ended poorly I have a routine. Get out my phone, put on “Free Now” by Gracie Abrams (Yes I am a Gracie stan to the point where I will even listen to her doing cardio at the gym), open my locked note titled “Unsent Texts” and get to work.
The truth is there is no other feeling like this. Getting to do aggressive type while dumping your feelings is the most soothing thing ever, especially if you are still healing from the situation. I just did this the other day when I was studying for multiple exams. This recurring thought about a past situation would not leave my head space. Instead of continuing to think about it, I did the one thing I knew would work: draft a text in my notes about clarification I needed but knew I would not receive. A couple clicks of my keyboard, and it was done. I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.
That sounds stupid since I am in reality not sending the texts. But putting feelings into words made me feel more understood. I tend to not always know how to sum up my emotions and how I feel but this is a healthier strategy I have come up with. My Unsent Text Files is weirdly enough one of the things I am so, so proud of. Learning how to cope and say good riddance to life situations is getting easier every day for me, one day at a time.