Throw-Up

Throw-Up.

It's nasty.  No one likes to do it.  It leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Our words can be like throw-up. 

If you let all of your bad thoughts, feelings, and ideas build up inside of you, they WILL eventually come out. You may find yourself suddenly spewing out all of those negative thoughts, feelings, and ideas that you've been holding in-- it may be directed at your spouse, your kids, your co-workers, or your friends.  When it's all over, you'll probably feel better, but that person you love is standing there, covered in your verbal throw-up.  Not a pretty picture.

I think we've all found ourselves ready to verbally puke all over someone.  And the thing is, the "someone" you just vomited all over probably isn't even the person who's been upsetting you...most likely, they just happened to "be there".

Do you have an outlet for your feelings so you don't find yourself in this situation?

Here are some of the things that work for me:

1.  Prayer- I know...so cliche!  But sometimes just a quick, "Lord, help me control my mouth!" does wonders!

2.  Removing myself from the stressful situation.  Sometimes I just have to mentally tell myself, "Walk away.  Don't do it."

3.  Retail Therapy.  Laugh if you want, but it works for me!  Maybe it's because it's something I truly enjoy, so it helps neutralize the negative thoughts running rampantly through my brain.  For you it may be crafting, playing an instrument, reading, etc.  The point is to find something that you enjoy doing and can give you some peaceful time alone.

4.  Talk to someone.  Sometimes you just have to talk to someone completely outside of the situation.  They (hopefully) can help you see the situation from other points of view and talk you through it.  For me, this is often my mom, sister, and a few other friends in Albuquerque.  They live 1/2 way across the country and are usually not the source of my angst, so I feel that I can be completely honest since they aren't directly involved in any of the situations I'm dealing with.  (P.S. "Angst" is a fun word to say, which is weird, because "angst" implies that something is not fun.  Sorry...off the subject.)

5.  Talk to someone.  I know I just said the same thing in #4, but this time, I mean talk to the person you are having an issue with.  But I attach a warning to this.  Only go this route if you are truly and sincerely trying to mend what is broken, otherwise, you'll end up verbally puking all over them and that will only make matters worse.  And if you try to do the right thing and the other person won't hear you out, look again at #1 and #2 and read #6 and #7 below!

6.  Take a deep, cleansing breath.  I know it sounds ridiculously simple, but it can give you just enough time to calm your thoughts.

7.  Bite your tongue.  Literally.  Sometimes, when I'm really upset and want to verbally vomit all over someone, I literally have to bite my tongue so I don't say something I'll regret later.  This happens all too often.  Note to self:  I should probably invest in Orajel.

These are not, by any means, "THE answer" to stopping verbal diarrhea, but it's a start.  The point is to find what works for you.

A silly example of this from the movie Puss In Boots is when Humpty Dumpty says, "Little Boy Blue, remember: When you feel like you're going to blow your top, blow your horn instead."

Psalm 19:14 says, "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, Oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." -- If you've meditated on it in your heart, it's going to come out in your words.

Find a Godly, healthy, and constructive way to handle it.

What do you do when you feel like you're going to blow your top?