Sometimes Just Talking About It Makes You Feel Better

Last night Micah came into our room in the middle of the night acting really weird. He was crying and didn't want to be touched- very unlike him. I thought maybe he was sick. He wouldn't answer our questions about what was wrong. Finally it occurred to me to ask whether he was scared, and then he told me that he was thinking about a scary part in the movie he'd watched in the afternoon. He told me about what he thought was scary and I listened. At that point I had to go to the bathroom. I told him I'd be right back and I figured we'd talk some more. But just sharing that information had evidently set his mind at ease, because by the time I got back he was sound asleep, and he slept through until morning.

This is a lesson about keeping things to oneself. They tend to get bigger and scarier when they're locked inside our heads. Once we share them with others often we realize that their teeth and nails aren't quite as sharp as we thought they were.