5 Unusual But Healthy And Effective Ways To Vent Frustrations And Release Stress On Your Own

Warning: some of the content below is intended for readers 18+

Okay, let’s state the obvious. We all get upset from time to time. As a matter fact, feeling angry is a completely normal human emotion and it’s perfectly allowed. A little bit of anger here and there is actually healthy and can give us the push we sometimes need to become useful and productive. Other types of emotions we experience in addition to anger are sadness, anxiety, fear, depression, etc…These can be triggered by many situations and leave us feeling powerless, like things aren’t under our control anymore. When that happens, we get frustrated and sometimes angry.

Study shows if our frustrations aren’t dealt with effectively they can end up becoming significant problems later. Of course there’s a plethora of things we can do to release our stress; and “venting” is one of them. Indeed, the practice of venting can be very effective in helping to release stress. The most popular way people vent is by talking to someone. Aside from that, what else can we do when we feel extremely frustrated but aren’t ready, nor willing to share our feelings with anyone?

For the longest time I didn’t feel comfortable talking to people about stuff that bothered or frustrated me. I’d keep everything bolted in until I couldn’t take it anymore and I’d simply explode. I would even act out my anger on complete strangers. But what hurt me the most was watching my then 7 year-old son cry because I yelled at him for no reason. I knew I needed to find a healthier way to let out my frustrations; preferably one that didn’t involve making my son cry or being rude to people.

It took me a while but I’ve eventually come to terms with the fact that I am an introvert and I’ve always enjoyed examining things in my own mind. Therefore, talking to someone would be the last thing I do to ventilate. While most people tend to go to family and friends to share their feelings, I prefer to vent alone to calm and regulate my emotions. As individualistic as they may seem, below are the top 5 things I normally do alone to ease my mind whenever I feel angry, frustrated, or stressed out.

CRY. Instead of venting my anger by yelling, throwing things, punching a pillow, or crying on someone’s shoulder, I cry to myself. There’s nothing like a good old ugly cry to help release pent-up anger. Past research has also shown that emotional tears have higher levels of stress hormones in them; so crying is actually good for you. I find allowing myself the space to cry is a very effective way to connect with my emotions and free up some build up negative energy that was otherwise too much to keep inside. I always feel good after a good cry. And let’s be real, life isn’t easy. As grown ups we deal with a lot of stressful and darn right crazy situations. If you’re feeling worked up and want to cry, go ahead, cry. Release some stress. No one has to know. 

WALK IN REVERSE. Another healthy way I vent alone is walking off my stress; but I walk backwards. I put on my sneakers and some music and off I go. Because this way of walking goes against our usual motion, it requires some serious concentration. Automatically my mind is taken off my worries and is forced to focus on my movement. Furthermore, a study published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science found that backward walking helps to release happy hormones that keep our senses calm. I find it to be true because by the time I head back home I’m singing to the music and I’m in a better mood. It’s likely that some people might need a more intense exercise like running to release their frustrations, but reserve walking can give a good cardio workout too because my heart definitely pumps a lot faster than when I walk forward. 

WATCH A MOVIE. Sometimes when I feel frazzled, I turn to cinema. It’s a great way to distract my mind for a while from my problems or whatever it is that’s stressing me out. Personally I prefer a feel-good movie like a romantic comedy or a marvel film to temporarily escape from my reality and transport myself to another world. To me watching a movie is one of the best ways to relax and to release frustrations. I highly suggest you try it the next time you’re feeling emotionally out of sorts. It can be very beneficial to you in the long run.  

WRITE FREELY. For as long as I can remember I’ve always turned to writing as a way of getting my emotions out; and I still do to this day. The purpose of it is to get all my feelings out rather than allowing them to fester. I write down exactly how I feel about the situation or the person that’s causing me stress. I don’t hold back and I don’t worry about being grammatically correct either because most of the language I use in this sort of writing isn’t friendly anyway. By the time I’m done dumping it all on paper I always feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Then I turn around and I burn it all. I burn it for the simple fact that I wrote it for my eyes and my eyes only. Come to think of it this might just be my favorite self-venting method yet.

MASTURBATE. This is another self-venting favorite. Aside from making us feel good, masturbation is another technique that can be used to release stress. It has been found when we orgasm we release oxytocin which lowers levels of cortisol, known as the stress hormone, in the body. According to Janet Brito, a sex therapist and founder of the Center for Sexual and Reproductive Health in Honolulu, Hawaii: “…masturbation is a perfectly natural and healthy approach to promote emotional regulation, enhance your mood, and be with yourself…” Speaking from experience I can comfortably say, when I’m too stressed out to fall asleep, touching myself and climaxing always make me feel much calmer. We may not want to openly talk about it, but masturbation is not uncommon, it’s not dirty and it certainly isn’t wrong. It’s completely healthy and it does help alleviate stress. 

These self-venting techniques may not bring solutions to your problems, but they can for sure help you release some stress and calm your mind enough so you can gain new perspectives on things. What is one unusual thing you like to do to release your stress? Hit the comments below and share with us. Your method could possibly help someone.

A bientôt!