KELLI YOUNGLOVE

A lot of times it feels like we just need to vent to a friend. The client didn’t pay. The kids are acting up. The guy who promised he’d call didn’t call. We meet with a buddy for drinks to get it all off our chest. And it helps, doesn’t it? We feel better when we tell a friend what’s really bugging us deep down inside. Sometimes, just saying it out-loud brings relief . . . And I'm all for that. But here’s the thing about venting: It can strengthen an old story that actually n

See that picture? That’s me when I’m not taking care of myself. Or when I’ve been putting myself last on the list. Of course, it’s not really me. It’s Kathy Bates, playing the role of Annie Wilkes in the 1990 movie Misery. You remember Annie, don’t you? She was that big-hearted gal who pulled a man from a car crash during a terrible winter blizzard—then took him home to care for his two broken legs until the roads cleared up enough to get him to a hospital. She was just so ni