When ANGER is OK ✨

Times are stressful right now. 

Emotions are high. 

A lot of people, at times, are feeling anger, even rage. 

I know I am. 

That blistering, heated, pressure trying to burst out of every seam of my body. 

And I have learned that it is vital for me to let it out. 

Just like any emotion, stuffing down anger, rage, irritation, frustration, and righteousness, can cause so much dis-ease for us internally. And when we don’t acknowledge anger and let it out, it will find its own unhealthy and inopportune way to release. 

It is important to differentiate the internal emotional experience of anger and rage from the external expression of it. Those two things are different. 

And while we don’t necessarily have control over the internal emotions, sensations, and thoughts related to anger, we do have control over how we choose to channel it. Some of personal favorites and those of my clients: 

• Scream into a pillow or in the shower
• Go into nature and shout into the trees
• Yell in a stadium packed full of sports fans 
• Scream while in a parked car (a safer channel than road rage)

What to do with anger while in the company of others? 

For processing emotions privately and quietly among peers, colleagues, and family, I highly recommend process journaling using these tips:

• The intention of this type of journaling is to simply LET THE ENERGY OUT
• Any piece of paper will do – I used to grab a sheet of printer paper while in my office at work
• Scrawl out your stream of consciousness. It does not have to be legible, you will not be reading this again
• If you feel safe to do so, allow emotions as they arise – tears, breath, sighs, silent screams
• When you feel complete, crumple, shred, or tear the paper up. Sometimes I burn it in a fire-safe place
• Take a few breaths to come back into your body and notice the impact of this exercise

We have been taught that anger is not safe, healthy, poilite, or healthy to feel let alone express. 

The full spectrum of anger is normal and healthy. 

And by honoring and allowing your experience of a normal human emotion, you are in turn inviting more ease and peace into your life, and nourishing your wholeness. 

Here’s to living a full and authentic life! 

Caitlin