When Mommy needs a good, long cry

I had a bad day. Things didn't really go my way at work and they weren't going that well at home either. There comes a point where you really don't want to hear your family's critiques about the new recipe you just rushed home to prepare for them; you just want them to eat it.

My usual behavior when that happens is to try and shake it off and focus on the positive. But it turns out, that behavior is probably killing me. A group of studies recently revealed that when parents try to suppress their negative emotions and emphasize their happier ones in front of their children, they tend to feel worse overall.

And I don't need to feel worse overall.

I understand the benefit of telling my son when I've had a bad day or let him know when I am not happy, but I am not sure how to tell him that his behavior is making a rough day even worse. For one thing, I don't want him thinking that his behavior is the cause of my unhappiness (when it might just be the last straw in a long day), nor am I convinced that he should think that he has such a strong sway over my emotions.

So what we are left with is a scenario in which I need to get rid of my negativity before bringing it into the house and letting it amplify at home. (Any negativity that is created inside the house is another story.) I used to use traffic as a way to help with this. Maybe on the really bad days I need to start taking the long way home.

How do you let out your negative emotions? Tell me in the comments.