It’s a common experience to feel alone when something is bothering you or as if you are the only person in the world struggling. It can be challenging to put into words how you are feeling or what you are thinking when you experience difficulties. Maybe you don’t think your parents will understand or that your friends might judge you. Even the most painful emotions are normal to feel from time to time. You are not alone!
Talking about your emotions might have you feeling nervous or uncomfortable, but it gets easier with practice. Sharing your experience and hearing stories from others who have gone through hardships, how they dealt with and learned from those challenges can be more helpful than you think.
Here are some of the benefits of sharing stories:
- Self-expression
- Connection
- Healing
- Normalization
Self-Expression
Sharing about difficult and challenging experiences can provide opportunities to process and think differently about those experiences, often allowing a person to move on and feel better. The more you practice the easier sharing becomes. One way to work on it is to practice labeling an emotion you are feeling and communicating that to a person you trust.
Connection
When you feel down, it can be normal to want space from other people. It’s really difficult to process and move forward from difficult experiences without connection to others. Sometimes when you aren’t ready to share, you can connect to others by reading or listening to the stories of people who have gone through similar experiences. Listening to other peoples’ experiences can help give you the confidence to share your story. True connection with others can help make tough situations easier to get through.
Healing
Talking and sharing with a friend or a trusted adult can help you feel less alone and even better about what you are going through. Communicating with others we trust and sharing your experience in itself can be healing. As you begin to share, it is common to learn new things about yourself and to find renewed courage to deal with challenging situations.
Normalization
When a person experiences something difficult and challenging it’s easy to feel alone. Sharing stories allows people to normalize feelings and know that they are not alone. People have all sorts of intense emotions swirling around inside of them when their world gets shaken up. This can include but isn’t limited to rage, terror, numbness, devastation, confusion, rejection, jealousy, and more. Hearing that someone would have (or did have) a similar reaction to you in a similar situation can help you to not feel disconnected or different. Sometimes just hearing someone say, “It makes sense that you reacted that way,” can be so helpful.
Final Thoughts
Whether you share stories with others through the Internet or face-to-face, you will likely find that you feel a little better. Being seen for who you are and allowing yourself to be vulnerable and honest can be empowering! It can be tough but reaching out to listen and connect with others and sharing your experience can help you learn more about yourself, feel better, connect with others, and improve overall your life!
Further Reading
Resilience and 4 Benefits to Sharing Your Story – Psychology Today
Why You Should Share Your Life Story Publicly – Thrive Global
