Tl;dr- don't be a dickhead about how people express their trauma through art.
For the love of all that is wonderful and wholesome, DO NOT EVER force your child to shred their vent art in front of you.
This event has stuck with me for years now. My mother found my sketchpad that I used for vent art. She freaked out, compared me to my abuser, and then forced me to shred the pages in front of her.
Yes, this was traumatic, and yes, I do get flashbacks from it. It goes without saying, people's trauma gets worse when they are shamed or don't have adequate support.
Vent can raw, emotional, bloody, disgusting, hard to see. It does not make me a bad person. It DOES NOT make me like my abuser. I am learning to deal with the awful things that happened to me. I am learning to deal with the fear, the shame, the intrusive thoughts, the hypersexuality, the guilt. Art helps me.
If you happen to see someone's vent art. DO NOT judge them for it. You may not know what/the extent of what they have been through or how it has affected them. Confronting them on it or shaming them can be incredibly traumatic. If you care about them at all, give them time. Let them talk to you, if and when they feel comfortable. If they post it (like I do), odds are that they aren't doing it for attention. Seeing other's vent art can be so healing. It makes me feel heard and understood, and I hope that mine can be that for other people as well.
