Thar She Blows

PRV

Get your mind out of the gutter folks.  Today’s title is not an abbreviation for a pervert.  PRV is an acronym for a very important safety device called a pressure relief valve.  PRVs bleed off pressure when said pressure exceeds a pre-set limit.  Without PRVs, things blow up as the pressure exceeds the limitations of the pipeline or vessel.  The pressure finds the weak spot and boom goes the dynamite.

Just like pipes and vessels, we too need PRVs.  If we are depressed, we internalize as long as we can then we have some sort of emotional blow up.  The same thing happens when we try to hold in anger rather than work with and through it.  Just like a pipeline explosion, emotional explosions can leave a trail of damage and destruction.  We have all done it.  We hold in the emotion on a subject until we just lose our mind and emotionally explode typically in the form of some verbal firestorm against someone else.

We are equipped with PRVs but do not always know what they are or how to use them.  The most common PRVs are boundaries.  Our boundaries help us know when to say yes or no, or when to walk away.  They help stop us from sending the flame text or email or leave the scathing voicemail.  They also help us know when to go out for a walk or hit the heavy bag to bleed off some pressure.  I use that very phrase when I need to get rid of something, “I need to go bleed off some pressure.”

Boundary failures are one of the more common causes of emotional explosions.  We deny our feelings, make excuses for others, or attempt to brush it off only to feel the toxic concoction building on the inside.  I am not suggesting you confront every single situation at the time it is happening.  Rather, I am saying to pay attention to the uncomfortable or less than favorable feelings, and when the right words come to you, address the situation.

Do you blow up and argue a lot?  Do you feel like you have pent up anger of some sort too often?  Maybe your PRVs are not functioning properly or need replacing.  Healthy boundaries are the best PRVs out there.  Our mind, heart, and spirit will guide us to the right decisions.  Are your PRVs in good working order?

Rodney - PRVs?  Check!