Neuroscientist Ethan Cross says you may think it's healthy to vent about what's bothering you.

But...

The problem is you often leave that conversation feeling really good about the person you just communicated with.

But all the negative feelings are still there.

Sometimes they're even more activated.

Tools for managing our emotions.

That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR.

Hey, everyone. You're listening to Code Switch. I'm B.A. Parker. To be a Palestinian-American writer right now

can lead to a lot of expectation to focus on identity and devastation, like in all caps, and not get into the nuance and

humanity of any one person's experience, you know, crushes, hopes for yourself, and your kids'

futures. Betty Shemilla has dealt with that kind of expectation as a Palestinian-American

playwright. I think my joy in life is making people laugh and telling stories. And I always

felt like I started out in theater because I didn't want to be alone writing books. And I also

thought it would be a good way to get a boyfriend.

And then I realized there's not a lot of straight men working in theater.

It's a small percentage.

But after 20 years of writing plays and even finding love, Betty decided it was time to take

the lonely road and sit down to write an intergenerational novel, Too Soon.

And in it, her main character, Arabella, is looking for love in some of the same places as Betty did.

Too Soon is the tale of three unapologetically bold, salacious, and ambitious Palestinian-American women

who are determined to ring an acceptable amount of joy out of a world that is not designed

for them to do so. I started with Arabella, who's a hip young theater director, looking for a dude to be her man,

...