Need to vent? Just Don’t Press Send!

I spend a large amount of time writing. It’s my job after all. It hasn’t always been that way however. When I was at school my teachers despaired at the lack of effort I put into anything written. The problem wasn’t the writing- it was that I hadn’t found anything I was passionate about to write about.  Once I discovered that I could type almost as fast as I could think, I found I had a way to record my thoughts and I was off.

However, whereas I still manage to think before I speak (most of the time), I am not so good at the whole thinking before I type thing. Yes.I have been guilty of writing some of those horrific venting emails.

They feel GREAT while you’re writing them don’t they? You pour out all your thoughts, you reread it for good measure, and then you press send.

You might still be feeling good a day or week later. But read one of them a month or year after that and you may feel a little different!

I’ve both send the odd vent and recieved a few. Sending it feels good. Getting one in your in box doesn’t. It actually makes you feel sick, and you shut down. You can’t talk about it, you can’t respond to it and you really wish it had never arrived.

I know that some of what I personally have said in writing I’d have happily said in person, but it is different. One is a moment you are both in at the same time, both feeling the vibe, hearing the tone and the context. And another is wham STUCK THERE. In the in box. FOREVER. And they can open up that email at any point. You don’t know what sort of day they’ve had or how they feel.

If you are an email ranter, then by all means write it -just don’t send it for a day or two. Think before you click. Sometimes just venting is enough. Or ring someone, actually connect. Either with someone who’ll give you a bit of clarity, or with the person in question. If they aren’t in your city or country, you can still call. Even facebook chat, or skype is better than an email.

A venting email is just you passing on your frustration to another person. It doesn’t fix things. But connection does.

Related posts:

1. Is He About To Dump Me? You’ve got a funny feeling your date is about to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.