Venting On The Net

   By drodriguez  Nov 02, 2010
16

People living with the nagging feeling that they have some unfinished business to take care of may be relieved to find there is a new way to vent.  A website called The Things You Would Have Said allows people to send in open letters to individuals they feel they have some unresolved issues with.  

A recent report from USA Today discusses the new website and what sending in confessional style letters can do for people. According to experts, people have an especially difficult time dealing with things they feel are unresolvable like a lost love or not having the chance to say goodbye to a loved one before they pass away.  

Creator of the site, Jackie Hooper, attributes the sudden death of actress Natasha Richardson to giving her the idea to start The Things You Would Have Said.  Hooper says that 70 percent of people who write in to her site are writing to loved ones who have died, but many write in to address unfinished business they have with the living.  

Another interesting aspect of the site that Hooper points out is that almost half of the letters are written to people’s fathers. Clinical psychologist, Michael Diamond, explains why people feel the need to address their fathers.  Diamond says, “There are a lot of wounded children out there - male and female- that are trying to resolve what their fathers did or didn’t do.”

Hooper posts one letter a day to her site and admits that there are many still waiting to be posted.

What do you think of the new site The Things You Would Have Said?

Do you think posting letters to a public website is a good way for people to resolve issues with loved ones?

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MyEmptyCanvas by MyEmptyCanvas | KOSCIUSKO, MS
Dec 05, 2010

what happened to good ol' journals or diaries that people wrote in ... & if you don't want people to find out what you wrote- you could always burn it LOL... people rely on the internet to much as is.

sharman421 by sharman421 | TALLAHASSEE, FL
Nov 30, 2010

Maybe that girl who got fired for blasting her boss on facebook should have gone on this site to vent instead!

yamagirl by yamagirl | POWDER SPGS, GA
Nov 21, 2010

I think that is the most funniest thing ever. I have the link open and want to check it out. Again like i said the in the facebook blog. Do what you want, but you will never see me doing that. Reading it though... that's another store lol

kstitt23 by kstitt23 | HOMER CITY, PA
Nov 10, 2010

I think this site will be an asset to some to vent their feelings with the perk of staying anonymous. Post Secret is pretty much the same concept. It's nice to see people putting it all out there though.

juliekk by juliekk | dallas, TX
Nov 09, 2010

I am glad to see the posts are kept anonymous - for the most part. This is not my cup of tea, but I can see how it would be helpful to many people.

dfran157 by dfran157 | Stevens Point, WI
Nov 08, 2010

I think venting is very stress relieving because getting it all out can make you calmer about the situation. It's not for me but it seems like a good idea.

Aspiringauthor09 by Aspiringauthor09 | LAKEVILLE, PA
Nov 07, 2010

I think that this site can be very therapudic. When I first heard this site's name, I thought it was a place for people to write innapropriate, angry e-mails to ex-girlfriends and bosses who have just fired them. Instead, I read touching stories. I think that, as long as this site isn't used unresponsibly, it can be a real help for many people out there.

sharman421 by sharman421 | TALLAHASSEE, FL
Nov 07, 2010

Venting is good any old way you choose to do it. Some people feel they cannot talk to anyone about their innermost feelings. Some feel their feelings won't be considered valid. Old fashioned letter writing has become a thing of the past (unfortunately). There are probably many letter that were not even sent, but they were a way to pour out old resentments (or vent). It's certainly toxic to hold everything in.

Von411 by Von411 | El paso, TX
Nov 05, 2010

Not sure of airing out my laundry so to speak to the whole world. I think sometimes its best to keep it to yourself. Thats my opinion.

girl17 by girl17 | EAGAN, MN
Nov 05, 2010

I can see where this would be a good site for some people, but agree that you need to be careful about what goes on the internet these days. You don't want to try to resolve an issue and end up in a worse situation! Everyone needs to vent and if you don't have someone to vent to then at least this is an outlet.

msfriendly by msfriendly | MONROE, WI
Nov 04, 2010

An addition to my last post: I know you can't do this with someone who has passed on. I mean you should resolve things with those you CAN talk to face to face!

msfriendly by msfriendly | MONROE, WI
Nov 04, 2010

They may feel better by doing this, but I don't think it will help them resolve anything in the end. If you have something that needs to be said, I think you should say it (more assertively) to the person you need to be talking with.

dreemz8680 by dreemz8680 | Palm Coast, FL
Nov 04, 2010

It may feel better to vent at the time but in the long run I don't think that it is going to help them resolve any deep down issues. They need to face them head on or with therapy if it is something extremely deep rooted.

mardel by mardel | SCHAUMBURG, IL
Nov 03, 2010

I agree with MadHatter! The web has become to some people a way to do everything including speaking about their feelings with total strangers! In some situations I guess it's ok but to spill our whole life issues regarding yourself or someone is just to much to share for me! If I have to vent I would do it differently. Remember guys everything you put out there will be seen by people you may not want knowing!

MadHatter by MadHatter | Whitestone , NY
Nov 03, 2010

For me? I won't do it. Something like that is pretty sensitive and users need to use discretion when they are going to post something sensitive up like that. Its good to vent, but be careful where you vent. The internet is an extremely dangerous environment now.