That's a good tip. Yeah, I call my mother if I need to vent and cry. She's been dealing with it for years now, and knows what I need. When it comes to my guy, I make sure to give him specific instructions on what I need from him. i.e. "I just need you to sit and listen right now." or "I need your advice on a situation." The worst thing I can do is storm through the door and throw up my problems all over him and expect him to take it with a grain of salt.
I only learned to temper these situations after I went through several ex-boyfriends that had no clue how to deal with emotional issues. I realized I needed to make some self-adjustments as well. My boyfriend internalizes most of what is bothering him. He also grew up in a very stable household, so a lot of the family issues I have, he's never had an experience dealing with before. So I try not to scare him with my family's craziness.