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Wendy Scott's avatar

It was interesting to read this, Linda, as I'm the opposite. I hold things in and stay calm when I should show some anger. It sounds like anger was accepted and normalized in your family, so you learned to use anger as a coping mechanism.

Your advice about journaling is spot on. Writing things down gets it all out of your head and on to a page. I often used writing to calm my self down when I was younger. Great post!

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Linda Gumper's avatar

I would be so lost without my journal. It's like having a great conversation with myself.

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Wendy Scott's avatar

I've still got all mine starting from when I was 15. They're in a box in my closet waiting for me to write my memoirs lol.

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Mandy & Jonathan Chew's avatar

Great read!

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Bethany Ford's avatar

This is me. I truly don’t understand why the person I’m angry with hasn’t burst into flame 🔥 with the amount of angry emotion coming at them. I frequently envision places exploding. This is usually followed by feelings of total helplessness, because not only is the person continuing to walk around and cause problems for me, but there isn’t anything I can do about it. “Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage.”

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Linda Gumper's avatar

No you can't do anything about another person but you can do something how you react.

Try digging into the rage or anger and see what lies beneath it. I bet you find some gold.

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