Anger is often the “tip of the iceberg.” It is crucial to uncover what is beneath the surface of the anger so that we can find peace, safety, and clarity.
Anger, then, is often what we see. We typically mask our other emotions (e.g., fear, betrayal, pain, anxiety, abandonment, etc) with anger as a way to protect ourselves and keep us safe.
JOURNAL PROMPT: What is under my anger?
Before you continue reading about anger, grab your journal, take 5-10 minutes to reflect on the journal prompt, and then keep reading.
Here is the inside scoop on anger:
🌟 Anger is NOT a shameful emotion. Let’s make that clear right off the bat.
🌟 Anger is an emotion that is there to move you to take action.
🌟 YOU get to choose the action. Will you move toward processing the emotion so you can heal and make necessary changes, such as creating and setting healthy boundaries. Or, will you move toward the action of reacting to the situation or person that “caused” your anger and explode the situation even more? (These are just examples.)
🌟 Anger is an emotion that is full of energy, which is why we sometimes feel red in the cheeks or clinch our fists or need to go for a run or clean the kitchen. It urges us to move. During that movement, we can do the processing I mentioned above.
🌟 The processing of our anger is crucial, and it involves uncovering our anger to see what other emotions are lingering there. Remove the shame from the anger and discover the underlying emotions beneath your anger. Is it that you feel abandoned, overlooked, jealous, misunderstood, etc?
🌟 When you process your emotions, whether it be anger alone or anger with the emotions beneath the anger, you can learn from it and heal.
compassion communication skills self-worth self-love love yourself depression
