Anger Care And Prevention

Caregiver Warrior

I can get angry sometimes. My anger can be about something that caused me to be righteously mad and I get my knickers in a twist about it or sometimes it just flys up out of me without warning or reason. Sometimes I find myself grouchy and irritated for what seems like no reason and before you know it I’m acting out and have to stop and ask myself what’s going on and why am I feeling bad. No matter what causes it, feeling angry is normal and not allowing myself to be angry is dangerous. Stuffing my feelings makes my heart and body build up like a pressure cooker that can explode at any given time. It’s not healthy for me or anyone around me to repress my anger. How I act out my anger is another story. I can give myself permission to be angry but even if it’s righteous anger it needs to be managed correctly. Thrashing or lashing out is not only inappropriate, it’s damaging, hurtful and unkind. Depending on how rested and calm I am and the amount of self care I’ve taken recently I can be a raging lunatic for what feels like forever, or I can feel my feelings, express them and then move on. Giving myself a time out can really help me. Walking away, taking a break, slowing it down and taking some deep breaths really help me to get organized and calm down. Then if I can be civil and it’s a person that’s made me mad I will try and explain what happened for me and why I got upset. I’m not always able to do this right away and sometimes I just have to take as much time as possible before I can express myself. But not expressing myself creates resentment and that’s a lingering cesspool in my head. Being in touch with my feelings and taking my emotional temperature on a daily basis is a wonderful caregiving tool and can actually help prevent unhealthy expressions of anger. Knowing and noticing how I’m feeling during the day can help prevent outbursts or even feelings of anger in general. If I realize I’m exhausted and anxious or sad and frightened, I can take actions to soothe myself. If I am raw and vulnerable I can try and have patience with myself, slow it down, take it easy or reach out to someone. I can actually fix myself a little before I become irritated and frustrated to the point of no return. In all of this just knowing that anger is part of life and living especially in the world of the Caregiver Warrior helps tremendously. So often we think we are not allowed the human and natural feeling of anger and we then beat ourselves up on top of feeling the discomfort of being angry. Take your emotional temperature today and see if you need to come to your own aid and do anything and everything to make yourself feel better both physically and emotionally. This is preventative medicine and may save you a lot of discomfort and unhappiness. You might even be able to nip some anger in the bud! Sent from my iPhone