Does ranting make things better or worse ?

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As a child and young adult, my "rantings" were melt-downs, and shut-downs. They became less and less frequent over several decades, and full blown melt-downs are very rare for me now. I still have minor "rants", usually in private. I let them run for a few minutes to vent the feelings, then work to "change the channel." Once in a while, if something is bothering me I'll share it with relatives in an email rant, then apologize for ranting about whatever it is. I find that these email rants also help me to vent, but the strong emotions of my wording does require an apology, as I don't want my relatives to feel bad about not being able to "fix" whatever is bothering me.

I do know that venting a little does help, but overdoing the venting can add to the problems of one's life. When overdoing it, you might break something, or hurt someone, or give others a bad impression. It also puts a strain on your health, too, so keep to little ventings instead, if you can, then, after a few minutes, change the channel. As to what that means, just try to think of something else, watch something funny on TV, or listen to some nice music, or go out and mess around in the garden, or play with your pet, etc.

I'm a person who keeps a lot of things bottled up inside. So venting, even to the point of ranting is very releasing for me.

I myself don't usually actively rant, unless it's with a trusted person.

I think it only would make things worse, if it were ranting in a public place, or ranting to people who someone didn't know very well. If it's a controversial topic that's being ranted about, it's good to be mindful of the audience.