Racism, sexism and all the various other “hate these people” isms and phobias are arguably methods for expressing and rationalizing anger. And they’re bad. But what’s a good way?
Racism, sexism and all the various other “hate these people” isms and phobias are arguably methods for expressing and rationalizing anger. And they’re bad. But what’s a good way?
What works for me :
I remove myself from the situation that caused the anger.
I let myself live the anger for a minute or two, or a bit more if needed.
When the anger is gone, I identify what emotion is the cause of anger. Anger is 99% a reaction to a negative emotion.
I say outloud to myself the reason of my anger. Otherwise, I feel like the anger is pent-up.
If my anger was directed at someone, I apologize and explain why I was angry.
Finally, I reflect on the situation and the emotions I experienced. Sometimes it’s 30 seconds, sometimes it’s a few days, depending on the gravity of the situation. By understanding what caused the negative emotions, I can handle it better in the future.
This is a nice way to look at anger. Kind of similar to something my therapist said a long time ago. #3 specifically is a huge one.
I figured out that my issue was that I wasn’t able to identify the emotions I had.
I worked with my therapist to learn to catch myself when I get angry, then I learned to accept the anger and finally identify the negative emotion.
By doing that, I don’t hold on to that anger most of the time, and when I do, it’s a lot shorter.
And by identifying the underlying emotion, I can live the emotion and then redirect it. Overall, it made a big difference in my life.
I will always be stuck with anger as my first reaction to a negative emotion. But it is a lot healthier now.
Usually with regard to the 3rd step, I realize it’s a series of smaller frustrations that have led up to the huge angry outburst. One or two things go wrong, OK I can usually handle it. But after that, get outta the way because I’m like an exploding nuclear warhead. I’ve driven off more than one friend and roommate with my 0 to suddenly 100 rage.
This is why it is important to learn to identify the smaller frustrations to stop them from building up. Smaller frustrations are easier to deal with, so it is a good idea to take a minute or two to just deal with them right when they happen. It will stop most of the bigger outbursts.
That’s very true, smaller frusts are easier to deal with. I usually have to step away from the situation and let myself breathe and try to talk myself out of “catastrophizing” every situation.
Same for me. It works, and I can just vent to myself and move on with my life.
But sometimes, the big outbursts are inevitable considering the context. But that’s life.
Yeah I think it’s inevitable sometimes. I’m also working to try and catch myself before it gets to that point, but sometimes it just happens. I try to remember that causing damage will only makes thing much worse than they are already, and I can use that energy for something I really want to be doing instead.