Embracing Anger: A Journey of Self-Understanding and Healing
At first, this blog started out about the need to slow down again, but the energy in the air tells a different story.
For many, our schedules have filled up, responsibilities are resurfacing, and I must ask:
How does this make you feel?
Excitement, anticipation, or perhaps even overwhelm. But there’s one emotion that often lurks beneath the surface, an emotion we tend to avoid, deny, or hastily brush aside: anger.
The Glow of Anger
This is not the first time I have blogged about anger; see my 11/9/2022 post.
Note the date of this blog. Could there be something in the air or the season of this time of year?
Personally, I am in love with anger. When it is direct, pure, and honest, it is an energy of clarity and truth. It is such a powerful life force. Energetically, anger breeds creativity, sexuality, and growth.
Anger is a dynamic force. How do we meet it? Direct it?
What we do with that force has to do with whether we hide behind this energy or meet it.
The Unwelcome Guest: Anger
Anger isn’t an easy emotion to grapple with. Who really wants to feel it, let alone be around it or work through it? Most of us instinctively recoil from anger, labeling it as “negative” or “unpleasant.” It’s as though we’ve corralled a wild bull and are afraid to approach it. We’d rather turn a blind eye and hope it simply goes away.
What if we took a different approach? What if we met that anger and acknowledged its presence without judgment? What if we allowed ourselves to feel its raw energy, its undeniable aliveness?
What if we invited it to speak, whether through physical expression or in the private pages of a journal? What if, instead of resisting, we embraced our anger, sat beside it, high-fived it, and offered a listening ear?
Exploring the Roots of Anger
To understand anger, we must first recognize it as a profoundly human emotion. Often ignited by feelings of injustice and hurt. For instance, not being seen, heard, felt, or understood is a most painful experience.
Does that sound familiar? It should, for this is a core aspect of the complex web of the Mother Wound I write about.
The Mother Wound is a deep well of unmet needs, a reservoir of emotions that have often been suppressed or ignored. It’s a place where the wound of not feeling truly seen, heard, felt, or understood runs deep.
As we move through life, these unresolved emotions can surface as anger when provoked intentionally or not. Without knowing, we move from hurt to rage and feel completely justified.
The Power of Acknowledgment
What if we met our anger as a messenger, a signpost pointing toward the unhealed wounds within?
See its call to explore the depths of our emotions, to feel its presence, and to begin the journey of meeting rather than rejecting the experience of anger.
When we sit with our anger, when we truly listen to its message, we are on a path toward greater self-understanding and emotional liberation.
It’s not about stewing in anger but about honoring its presence and allowing it to guide us toward wholeness.
As we move through our emotions, let us remember that anger, too, has its place in our emotional landscape.
By acknowledging it and delving into its roots, we can transform it from an unwelcome guest into a powerful catalyst for healing and growth.
Warm regards,
Mari Grande
LCSW-R, LCAT, ATR-BC, PsyA, EDMR, SEP
Creative Prompt
Materials:
A blank piece of paper
Colored Pens, Pencils, or Markers
Compass or kitchen plate (to make a circle)
- Draw 2 large circles, but overlap so you have a Ven Diagram
- Color the center (overlapping) area with the color that represents ANGER to you (no right or wrong color, only what is true for you today).
- Write inside the circle to the left any positive associations you have to that color inside (what else do you think of when you see that color? Objects, flavors, smells…)
- Write inside the circle area to the right any negative associations you have to that color.
(what else do you think of when you see that color? People, places, sounds…)
Would love to know what you discovered; please share below!
