I read these words from Mark Twain and knew that I had to do something with them. As we have all known anger, he very generously points out that there are two different types. Anger, and then when we are VERY angry! No matter who we are, at one time or another, we have to express our anger or explode! I had a friend who took up boxing just for that reason. She needed to hit someone or get an ulcer…boxing was her healthy alternative to medication. Once she began regularly punching a bad, she felt better and her anger subsided. She had found her way to let her anger go.
Sometimes there are no words for our emotions. Sadness, delight, joy and even anger. Sometimes the only way to get out our emotion is to act – dance, leap, crumble into a little ball, or even punch a bag. Tears of pain, tears of joy, tears of fear or even tears of anger…all of which are a physical response to an emotional need. Being healthy means giving ourselves the grace to feel all those emotions AND to find a way to process them in a healthy manner. I have another friend who goes to the movies to seek refuge from her frustrations. Yet another person I know rides their bike.
Your mental health is important enough to handle it with an action which is how you process your emotional needs. Assuming that action does not harm or injure someone else…even if you might feel like it! We’ve all felt that way. The emotions well up inside until the only way to let them out is to run, scream, yell into a pillow or collapse on the floor. No matter how you do it, do it! Give yourself the gift of self expression and release all that pent up energy until you can’t do anything else. THAT is when the healing and growth begins. THAT is when you begin to understand how you do YOU and how you become a better version of yourself.
So if you get angry, count to four…when you get very angry, swear! Mark got it right…some days you just need to let it all out!
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