College can be one of the most stressful points of your life, which makes it important to surround yourself with good, reliable friends who will have your back through the highs and the lows. There will come a point where you want to shut everyone off, be alone, and binge three different Netflix series. Before you do that, consider not only telling your friends that you will be gone and distant so they don’t think you’re MIA, but finding a friend that you can confide in that you can just vent to; someone who can just let it all out and tell all your problems, in complete confidence.
It is important to share your feelings with others, so that they can help you with your situations to the best of their ability. Keeping things bottled up can be very unhealthy, as it can cause emotional and physical turmoil, stress, anger and sadness, among many other things. Having all this emotion cemented inside is like tying cinder blocks to your feet and drowning in the sea. The more we bottle our feelings up, the more weight we add and eventually we drown.
As humans, we often feel quite alone in this world, until we open up to someone and realize we aren’t alone. Humans connect through mutually shared feelings and experiences, it’s what makes us crave that interaction of having someone there for you at your lowest point. Not everyone is going to understand exactly what you’re going through, but relaying your thoughts and emotions to someone is a great way to release all the tension you have built up inside.
Venting allows you to get everything off your chest in a judgment-free environment. It is especially helpful when you have someone who helps you determine solutions to your problems and helps you brainstorm or give advice, but even someone who is just there to listen is better than nothing.
Being able to talk your way through your problems and come up with solutions aloud can help in finding viable solutions to them. Just talking and walking through the steps with a friend to guide you can make all the difference when dealing with stress, anger and frustration. Hell, even just saying your problem out loud for yourself can give yourself a different perspective on it. It makes certain aspects seem not as big of a problem when you walk yourself through it as well as when you have a friend to lend their perspective or even unbiased advice. Sometimes it is hard to hear advice that isn’t always in your favor but having someone who is able to see the other side of an issue makes it easier to find a solution.
Most people feel comfortable opening up to their friends, family members and loved ones, but there is also a large number of resources that you can reach out to. Counselors, doctors and mobile hotlines are just a few that are there to let you open up and help you take the next step to overcome the adversity you’re having in your life.
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