• We are a multilingual website again. Read the notice about this.
  • Understand AI use at MyPTSD: all AI use is explained in our AI help page. AI use is by choice here. It exists if you want it, but does nothing unless you choose to use it.

Anger - the topic of the week?

Status
Not open for further replies.

FauxLiz

Diamond Member
While I was inpatient one of the exercises was to write out anger statements about our our abusers actions and how we feel about them. The problem is I am struggling with putting that anger back in a box. To give an idea most patients write out 10-20 I wrote out four pages of statements which is a lot to put back into Pandora's box.
 
I've found I can't comfortably put those feelings back in once I let them out. Especially once I clearly recognize the roots of the feelings. I have to either dig them up and let them go (easier said than done, for sure) or decide to keep tossing more fertilizer on them to let them keep growing (I've found there's definitely no shortages of fertilizer)....weighing the benefits/consequences of doing so as it relates to my overall health.

Have you ever tried burning them once they're on paper? I like to write things down that are severely disrupting my flow and build a small fire in the fire pit, fireplace, or even simply lighting a candle and using a fireproof bowl. Then I sit with it until the fire is fully extinguished. The ceremony itself of getting things ready and speaking things out loud that normally stay inside seems to bring me back to a more grounded state of mind. As it burns I speak words that come to me in the moments of letting it go, giving it permission to be released from my heart, thanking it for making me more aware and reminding me of the unfinished business awaiting my a-tension, and asking it to move on to make space for things that feel much kinder to my heart.

I also have to physically work out my anger, via primal screaming, hammering nails to an old board, digging in the dirt, walking in nature, beating the shit out of a pillow (punching bag/speed bag when I owned one), playing a song that helps me feel better and dancing/shaking/hula-hooping like a fool, and/or channeling those energies into cleaning or something else productive that I've avoided/procrastinated up until that point. Best wishes in finding the release/healing grooves that feel comfortable and content in your head/heart space.
 
I know anger lurks beneath my numbness. I have had thoughts of throwing things. I make a bowl of milk and cereal I see myself dashing it across the floor. I like the idea of writing it down and destroying and getting it out physically like hammering nails or hitting a heavy bag. I have trouble with my wrists, thumbs and elbows anymore so I'd have to be careful.

Hope you find something @FauxLiz to help.
 
I used to be a frequent slammer of doors and drawers, etc....big time...until I ended up creating more issues to have to fix around the house while not fixing a damn thing as it related to my mood or the actual issue....but it was like an automatic response that I couldn't think or feel my way through at the time...and often the more I thought about it, the more things I wanted to slam. If I didn't slam stuff, I felt for sure I'd explode.

I remember reading something about a lady who would go spend a few dollars on thrift shop dishes and would take them to a friend's property who had an outbuilding they let her use to smash them up. I don't remember all the details, but she mentioned it was her new favorite anger management technique, then she learned to do various types of mosaic art using many of the pieces she broke.

I read another story where someone knew a junk yard owner and they let them go bust out windows of some of the cars with a bat. My body can't handle but so much, either, due to chronic pain, so I have to rely on less strenuous methods of release more often than not. The primal scream in the woods, into a pillow, or in my car is one I can feel the most energy released from with little physical effort. Along with the act of writing things down and getting them out of my head/heart space and safely destroying them with fire.

The kitchen remains my favorite release space (right next to nature and my breath) to work out emotions via the chopping, combining, cleaning, continual learning, creating, and eventually rewarding myself with something tasty-to-me and more healthful than I ever realized I needed that also slowly but surely helps build a stronger foundation, albeit still a pain-filled one thanks to decades of neglect/abuse. I already had a huge love for cooking and such, so that helps me partake in that particular outlet a whole lot. But some days, even the thought of chopping vegetables hurts. May we all find our most helpful/kind-to-self ways through this tricky maze called life.
 
LOL! I would suggest squishing boiled eggs in your hands! Get them half peeled and squish away! My anger comes out while trying to peel the buggers. I have been known to throw them against the kitchen wall rather than fight with the sticking shells. Hubby now peels them or we buy them pre-peeled! But, I love the idea of buying plates and smashing them then using them to do mosaic work. What a productive way to redeem the object of anger. In a way, it turns what may have been ugly into something nice to look at. Gonna have to try this.
 
Thanks everyone for the ideas. I have a heavy bag that I do use to take out frustration at times and when I was inpatient I made a ceramic plate for the express purpose of breaking but now that I am home I can't seem to smash it as planned. I cook but seem to have permanently lost my appetite a few years ago. I used to run long distances but after surgery on Achilles and replacing my ACL I am afraid to run now. When I was a kid to get away from everything at home I started running I was running 5 or more miles a day by the time I was 12.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Donation drives

2026 Donation Goal

Goal
$1,800.00
Earned
$980.00
This donation drive ends in
0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds
  54.4%

Trending content

Featured content

Back
Top Bottom