Are you suffering the brunt of repressed anger in your life? Are you feeling the effects of unexpressed and unresolved anger in your relationships?
Anger is one of the most powerful emotions there is. No matter how hard you try to keep it hidden or how much you ignore it, it will still wield its powerful hold over you, your actions, behavior, and so on. In some people, the negative emotion can even lead to mental health problems such as depression or may wreak havoc in one’s relationships and overall ability to interact with others.
1. Understand that anger has no place inside you. Most people have repressed anger towards someone or something. The biggest problem is that it is very hard to relieve. This is because people have always looked at anger as a negative emotion. That’s the way we have been trained to think, when in fact, there is nothing wrong with anger. It is a natural emotion and an accepted response to negative triggers; it is never meant to be kept within. So as long as it is released and expressed, it does not become a pollutant in your life.
But when you choose to hide, ignore, or deny the emotion, it gets buried in your psyche, and once embedded, it can rot and fester until its effects become so powerful that it negatively affects all aspects of your life.
2. Understand that anger requires a solution. The problem with repressed anger is that it invites more anger and more problems and conflicts into your life. When something makes you angry, it is a sign that there is a need for change. If you ignore or hide your anger, then the situation that triggered your anger in the first place will not be changed. This leads to the possibility of that same problem to come up again in the future.
3. Use it positively. Remember, anger is an energy, a powerful force. So just think about it: if it can create such powerful effects when used negatively, it can also be used to wield positive effects. There is a way for you to transform anger into a positive emotion. All you have to do is be in control of it, instead of let it control you.
• Be responsible for your anger. Recognize your own emotion and make a personal decision to release it and transform it into a positive force in your life.
• Express it in your own way. Find some way to express your anger. One of the most effective and safe ways of doing so is to express it in writing. You don’t even have to worry about grammar or spelling. What’s important is to let the feelings out. Even if you don’t emotionally express the anger, writing about it is one way of letting it out so it does not get trapped and start poisoning you from within.
4. Learn to forgive. It is impossible to overcome anger towards a person if you do not learn how to forgive that person. Forgiving does not mean you have to go right back to the previous relationship you had with that person. Many people are not willing to forgive because they think forgiveness will benefit those who wronged them. But the truth is, when you choose to forgive, you are the one who benefits from it because you are finally freeing yourself.
If you are having difficulty forgiving, use positive affirmations and visualization. Visualize your life without anger and use subliminal messages to teach your subconscious to let go of negative emotions that hold you back.
Here are some examples you can use:
Forgiveness comes naturally to me.
I am free and in control of my own emotions.
I am willing and capable to forgive.
I have decided to move on.
This way, repressed anger will have no place in your life.
