𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲?
I was never able to feel anger. I felt things like frustration, but I could never allow myself to feel or express anger.
About a year ago, during a very challenging time, I felt anger for the first time. I didn’t know what to do with it. Sometimes it would suddenly come up, which scared me a bit.
Then one day in the woods, I stumbled across a pile of sticks. I picked up some, and just started beating. I had to overcome my own judgements at first, but after that it felt super freeing, relieving, and clarifying.
I now do this quite frequently. It’s like creating a safe container in which you can express your anger.
It also helps me with regulating my emotions. When you schedule this once a week/ month/whatever, it’s like your subconscious knows it has a set time where you can safely express your anger and sadness and frustration, so it doesn’t have to show up at random, unexpected moments anymore.
This practice helped me so much, so I wanted to share. If I could say just one thing; put your judgment aside, give it a try, and see what it does for you.
𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀:
𝟭) If you feel weird in the beginning or judgemental towards yourself, that’s normal. Can you let that be and at the same time give yourself permission to keep going trying something new? Or maybe it helps turning the lights off, or doing it when nobody is home.
𝟮) You can do this when there’s other people around. You can explain to them – even to children – what you’re doing and why. It’s a healthy way to handle emotions, and I think it can be beneficial for children to see adults cope with their emotions in a healthy way, as long as you explain to them what you’re doing and why.
𝟯) You can do this indoors too. Using sticks, or something like a roll of bubble wrap or a foam baseball bat.
𝟰) If you have trouble expressing anger, give this practice a try and see what shows up. If anger does arise, know it’s an emotion that will pass, that you’re safe, and that you are providing a healthy outlet for it.
𝗣.𝗦.: Respect your environment. I use dead sticks that I found, beating on a dead tree that fell over, and thank the space at the end.
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