Opening Up

Writer: Mariam Ramzy
Editor: Amal Magdi

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Many people are afraid of being called “sensitive”. They are too concerned about what people think of them. As a result, they end up bottling up their emotions. If you bottle things up, they’ll never go away but instead explode in the most unexpected time.Sometimes you may feel like others are being overdramatic and this is because you are used to being calm. You don’t make a fuss or a big deal out of your emotions. You might even feel jealous of the attention they are getting.

It’s been proven that one of the main reasons for this issue is the person’s upbringing. Children that grow up being neglected by their own parents tend to feel insecure about sharing their emotions. They haven’t experienced love or affection, which led them to the habit of hiding how they felt. Studies have shown that pressuring yourself to keep your emotions can cause heart diseases and other autoimmune diseases. There are serious consequences to neglecting you emotions instead of dealing with them,so here is my advice on how to open up.

1-Talk to a Close Friend 

Find a close friend that you fully trust. Talk to them about how you feel. They don’t have to reply to you or give you advice, they should simply listen to what you have to say. If they don’t listen, then at least now you know that you shouldn’t talk to this friend about your feelings. Some people may take your feelings personally and start arguing and/or being aggressive and these are the toxic ones. Real friends will let you feel like you could always talk to them about anything.

2-Write 

Several people prefer writing over talking, If you’re one of these people, you could keep a journal and record your feelings on a daily basis. You could even write what’s making you mad or angry and crumble the paper and toss it away. This way, you are getting rid of the negative energy and emotions that are bottling up. You may think it’s stupid, but it is not. Personally, I’ve always thought that keeping a journal is useless. However, this year I started writing daily and I’ve never felt better. I just look forward to going back home and writing everything that’s happened throughout the day. It relieves any anxiety and stress. 

3-Send voice notes to yourself 

Lastly, send voice notes to yourself. Honestly, this is my personal favorite, because it almost feels like I’m talking to people about my feelings when I’m not. I’m the type of person that rants and sends voice notes while crying and then regrets right away. I end up deleting it right before the other person listens to it. So, as a relieving solution, I created a group and then kicked the people out. Thus, it’s only me in the group. Whenever I’m mad or I want to get rid of what’s on my chest, I just send voice notes to this group. I feel euphoric.

All in all, don’t forget to cry. Cry as hard as you want to. It’s totally fine. You’re not alone if you cry in silence. Crying heals all the pain inside you. Just make sure that when you stop crying, you never cry again for the same reason.