One emotion that many of us find difficult to express and manage is anger… some express anger outwardly… blowing up angrily at the slightest thing… for others they bottle it up… unable to express it they turn it inwards… and sometimes we hold onto to anger… and continue to process it…  it might simmer away for months or years… until it’s too much to hold and blows up… bottling up anger can drain us mentally, emotionally and physically… subconsciously we also hurt those around us… through passive-aggressive behaviour… silent treatment…. Or always being in a bad mood… but pretending everything is ok. 

So how do we manage this potent emotion in a healthy way when it happens? 

 

They key is awareness… allowing anger to arise and noticing it without judging it good or bad… anger can sometimes seem scary… or we might have judgements about it. After a wave of anger has passed we can usually move onwards… but if we hold onto anger or react disproportionately then we need to create some space before we are able to respond appropriately.