Journal writing is a place where our most violent selves may have free expression.
There’s a great deal of violence in the world these days. In so many corners of the globe, passions run high and fighting is constant. As a species, human beings have a long way to go in dealing with the rage we feel.
Though as individuals we may feel helpless when it comes to wars, I’d guess that most of us experience rage now and then. Rage is when anger tips the balance, when your irritation mushrooms into a wild and dangerous force.
I don’t know about you, but when I express rage out loud in the presence of anyone else, it never goes over well. The display either scares people or angers them: in any case, it makes them suspicious of me and puts me outside the warm circle of friendship.
Not that my rage has no reason. That kind of livid anger can be provoked by injustice, willful ignorance, personal offense, or any one of a plethora of triggers. It’s not like I want to become so angry, but circumstances sometimes result in that condition.
So what to do with it?
I’m talking about that obsessive, stinging rage that might overcome you if you saw your friend murdered, or if you found your lover with another, or your competition plucked away your win at the very last moment … the sort of anger that makes you want to scream and kick and froth at the mouth.
It feels like a poisonous attack, yet you’re helpless to simply let it go. It haunts and teases you. You want to get it out, but you know that if you throw the fit you want to throw, you’ll end up both disliked and unsatisfied.
No, there has to be a more effective way of dealing with rage. One that accomplishes a few objectives:
- your rage must be recognized and respected;
- its energy must be both expressed and calmed;
- you must feel at least somewhat if not completely vindicated in the end;
- and you should have an idea about next steps, so that you progress and don’t just repeat the same cycles.
Grab your journal and get started. Ask:
- what does this rage feel like?
- what does it make me want to do?
- what purpose does it serve?
Be sure to answer these questions fully. Be as outrageously loud and offensive and long-winded as you want. Journal all your screams and curses. Name your enemies and tell them off in no uncertain terms.
Your journal is where expressing rage is perfectly acceptable, and even encouraged. And the more fully you express, the greater progress you can make in putting the negativity behind you.
At some point, you wear out and you stop raging. Then you go for a walk, or sleep, or whatever, and then return to your notebook.
Ask your journal:
- where can I take refuge? what is a safe haven for me?
- what is it about me that made me so angry about that?
- do I sincerely want to move beyond this rage?
After a few days have passed, go back to the beginning:
- how did I respond to the thing that provoked rage in me?
- how could I avoid things that trigger that feeling?
- how might I respond differently if it happened again?
And finally, journal the whole story:
- my life brought me to an encounter with something that resulted in red hot anger inside me …
- these are the reasons I had that reaction …
- here’s what I did with the rage …
- I learned that …
If you want to learn how journaling can help you tackle life's challenges, please download the free eBook, The Journaling Guide to Manage The Stress and Strains of Life.
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