Talking to others about feelings, emotions, and thoughts can improve your mental health. Many people may feel that talking to others can create a feeling of weakness, but talking to others can decrease stress and improve health. Communicating with others can make you feel supported and give others the ability to relate and give you advice. 

Often, teenagers keep their emotions and feelings to themselves. Teens tend to bottle their emotions instead of talking to someone else. Keeping emotions to yourself can cause lots of stress and make you feel overwhelmed. Myonlinetherapy.com explains that “In the long-term, it can have much more serious consequences – leading to issues like depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders.” Keeping your feelings to yourself can deeply affect your mental and emotional state, which further emphasizes how important it is to share what is on your mind. Also, myonlinetherapy.com demonstrates that the stress you carry when you don’t talk with others can cause outbursts and overreactions to small and irrelevant events.  

If you do not feel comfortable talking to someone you know about a problem you’re facing, then you can try a warm line. A warm line allows you to talk to others who can relate and give advice on any situation you may be facing. This may sound intimidating, but you do not need to share your name or any information other than your feelings. In a warm line, you can talk to people and let out any problems and stress you may be facing. The people you talk to may be able to offer guidance or tell you their personal experiences that correspond with yours. Saugus High School and William Hart District both have warm lines that can be found in the link below: Saugus Wellness Warm Line Page

When talking about feelings it is important to talk about good feelings as well as the ones that are putting you down. You should talk about events or actions that improved or made your day. This can make you feel empowered, strong, and courageous enough to get through any tough situations you may be facing. New York Times describes that focusing on unpleasant thoughts or events can reverse the benefit of talking to someone. Concentrating on joyful parts of your life or in your day can significantly improve your mental health and reduce stress and anxiety. To many, it may be easier to converse about the negative and degrading parts of your life rather than the ones you enjoy. When talking about your emotions, be sure to not only talk about what is frustrating you but also remind yourself of all the positive and joyful memories you have. 

Also, when talking about your feelings, respect the people you talk to. Allow other people to talk to you. Everyone has difficulties and troubles even though it may not seem like it. Try your best to make others feel comfortable to be around you and make yourself available for others to talk to you. Not only will this greatly affect this person, but this can give you a chance to reflect upon yourself. You can create an opportunity to help others and give advice. This job can also become stressful if a person has troubles that go beyond your help or advice. Although talking about feelings can be scary and uneasy, it is better for your mental state and relieves stress and anxiety.  

Talking with others is extremely important for everyone, no matter your age or your experiences. There are many options for talking about your feelings if you don’t feel comfortable talking with someone you know, such as seeking help from counselors and therapists. There is always someone there for you, but you have to reach out and tell them how you feel. Communicating with others relieves stress and improves your mood and mental health. Even though it may be hard to reach out during COVID-19, talk to others, and try to make yourself available for others to talk to you.