I'm almost 17, and I'm recently coming to realize that I have developed a near complete inability to express anger. I've spent my entire life being shot down or lamely pacified, so I've had to simply hold it in until it went away. Due to recent events, it's all coming back up and I can't physically handle it. I need a way to get it out of my system before I break something or get myself hurt. Any advice is appreciated.
Vigorous Exercise (running, stairs, etc... anything that will get your heart rate up and expend energy) Cry Punching Bag Scream into a Pillow Pound on the bed until you wear yourself out Journaling (written by hand is best as it connects to different parts of the brain, but if you don't feel secure with a physical journal, there are a lot of journal apps out there that can be secured with a password)
I think i will watch this thread as well. I grew up not being allowed to express negative emotion - or what my mom considered annoyingly, obnoxiously happy emotions, for that matter - so i never learned how. I never learned productive, positive, safe ways of handling negative emotions so they just became overwhelming to the point that instead of finding other ways to deal with it, i just turned to self harm instead. Anger, depression, anxiety, all of it. Its been a chore even learning to recognize when something's bothering me before it gets bad. In relation to anxiety, lately i have learned to do something i believe is called mindfulness? Idk...but say if i get a mad customer, that triggers bad anxiety, so i have to remind myself that i'm okay, i'm safe, calm down, etc.
The question I have is : do you need to let your anger out just physically (channelling it via things like sports) or destructively (with the knowledge of actual, definitive or temporary destruction of goods being the result of your actions)? Both can produce different effects to the person expressing their anger. I personally have to resort to (self) destruction without which anger still feels unexpressed. Most people can just resort to the first category, and I hope you can express yourself solely through those healthy means, but if you cannot then something else may be going on. You should also probably seek some counselling for that. It, over all, doesn't sound healthy.
That's what I'm asking. I'm looking for ideas in the first category so that I don't resort to the second category. I get very angry and feel the need to do something physical, but it doesn't necessarily need to be destructive. I just need to burn the anger off somehow, basically. Also, I am seeing a therapist, and she's kind of the one that opened my eyes to the issue of my suppressed emotions in the first place.
This is another reason I suggest vigorous exercise. A hard workout can -feel- like punishment. It can do a body good, but be agony in the moment. Boxing, as well, is much the same. The impact is physically painful, especially if you really work at it. Both activities can produce a "punishment/destruction" type of sensation without actually doing oneself physical harm (other than a few bruises or sore muscles) in the process.
If someone makes me really angry, I personally like to write lyrics to a song, dissing them Sometimes I'll sing them into my pillow. But usually I just have a singing marathon
You could hit a punching bag as a temporary solution. They don't break very easily as long as you use your body and hit them directly instead of the top or something wierd.
