‘Honestly, he kind of sucks’: trash-talking can feel great but is it really bad for you?

Venting can help us bond, but it can also leave a sour taste in your mouth - where is the line, and why do we love doing it?

It's a rush to realize you dislike the same person as someone else. There's a delicate, intoxicating dance: throwing out oblique criticisms and prowling around the edges until one person takes the leap and bravely says: Honestly, they kind of suck."

Soaking up the golden rays of your rightness and another's wrongness can feel exhilarating. Then, sometimes, there's a comedown. It hits a little later, or even while you're making a snarky comment: a sour taste in your mouth that makes you wonder if you went too far.