Maybe you were drunk, maybe you were sad, maybe your emotions got the best of you, maybe you held it in for too long, maybe you're really bad at outwardly expressing how you feel so typing it out eases the possibility of saying something you don't mean. Any way you spin it...eight page text messages come off slightly neurotic (although that has never stopped me from my fair share of them). I could sit here and try to rationalize what was going through your head as your fingers took over and the words kept coming, and coming, and coming. I could try to rationalize the, “Let me proof read this...sounds good so far, KEEP GOING" or the “Hurry up and send it before they see how long you have been typing," or even the, “Oh wait I forgot one more thing," but nothing can really explain this behavior or make it appear justifiable. Instead I'll tell you that you're not alone; together we can combat the after effects of eight page text messages.
First off: Think before you send. Gee, THANK YOU CAPTAIN OBVIOUS TIANNA. If we thought long and hard before we clicked "send" there would be no need for this discussion. However, I feel if I repeat it enough times, maybe we'll actually start to listen and these textbook length messages can become a thing of the past.
Wait until the morning. Anything you have to say can wait until the morning, I promise. Like good ol' Ted from HIMYM says, "Nothing good happens after 2 a.m." Even if you caved and sent the eight-page text, leave it at that. Sleep on it. Put the phone on airplane mode, shut your eyes, come back to it in six to eight hours. The morning will bring newfound clarity.
If you're sorry...apologize. If you're not...don't. Nothing is going to seem more erratic and illogical than spewing out harsh novels and spitting fire through text message than saying sorry right afterwards. If you're going to be crazy, at least own it and refuse to say sorry for expressing how you feel.
If they don't reply, don't keep texting them Read receipts make this feat quite unbearable because you cannot pretend they were eaten by a shark and unable to attend to the encyclopedia in their inbox. But suck it up and wait it out; your pride will thank you later.
Call them Personally, I like for my eight page texts to be replied to in a timely manner with thorough responses to all issues aforementioned. I like to think about what I want to say, craft it out, make it sound eloquent yet sassy, and get my point across with no possible chance at leaving anything important out. I'm a writer, I like to write what I feel. But, a phone call would resolve a lot more conflicts in my day to day life than typing short novels to all of my combatants.
Talk to someone else about it When you are full of rage and nothing is getting resolved (because honestly what do eight page text fights ever resolve) sometimes what I find is that I just need to to say what's on my mind to someone. Anyone. Talking about it with someone who is not the target of your deeply rooted afflictions helps you weed out what's important and what's just you blowing off steam.
But be careful with screenshots You're already borderline approaching clinical insanity...if you accidentally send a screenshot of your eight page text to the recipient of said eight page text, grab a paper bag and wear it over your head for 12 days minimum because you are doomed.
Don't do it again Once you click send, there is not taking it back. BUT you can refuse to have the same fight twice. You can rise above the rest of us and resort to actual human interaction to express your qualms next time. This doesn't have to become a ritual or routine behavior; break the cycle. Avoid eight page texts like the Black Death and cargo shorts.
