How Do I Get My Anger Out Of My Body?

[Chava]

Somatic or body-focused psychotherapy, like others have mentioned. My therapist is trauma and body-focused (dance movement therapy, Somatic Experiencing). Some of my worst traumas are also really old, like early early childhood and I'll never remember...but I'm feeling that's a lot of the stuff that's stuck in me. Somatic therapy helps with physically releasing the trauma as well as finding ways to feel safe in your body. It's not easy and not always clear what's going on since my worst traumas don't hold a clear place in my memory, but it's been very good for learning how to trust my body more and also find alternatives to burning myself or managing those intense self-destructive urges.

I'm not sure if something like this is an option for you, but worth a look. From where I'm at, I have to travel a ways to see my therapist so it's not super convenient and most of the time it doesn't work to make more than a couple appointments a month. But it's worth it because I was just wasting time in weekly talk therapy at a certain point...just very stuck...all that deep nervous system trauma stuff that had no language...

Outside of therapy, mindful movement like yoga and Pilates, walking, finding ways to modulate adrenaline surges without just acting hyper (usually helps to use up big muscle strength, like push against a wall...slowly...and use lots of upper leg muscle...stuff I've figured out through this sort of therapy but can do some at home when it gets crazy...personally, talk therapy didn't help me with those kinds of skills). Through somatic therapy and doing more gentle yoga and stuff, I realize it's also been important to feel "positive" experiences in my body and rebuild its experience of life...and my experience of being in my body. It's slow going for me but at least I have some vision of direction vs total helplessness.

I hope you find something that can help you better.

 

[passerine]

I would definitely suggest looking into somatic therapies, i.e. Somatic Experiencing, and some forms of expressive therapy (specifically dance and movement). I have done a little bit of both SE and dance and movement therapy (DMT) and it has been helpful. Also, I cannot say enough about trauma sensitive yoga. This has also been helpful for me in terms of getting the trauma "unstuck" from my body and feeling more grounded and empowered in my body. You may want to see if there are any certified yoga therapists or trauma sensitive yoga instructors that you can work with privately or in a group setting. I would add that regular exercise and in particular outdoor adventure has helped me release some trauma energy. I still struggle with body memories, but all of the above in addition to other grounding techniques have taught me the skills to teach my body that it is safe now.