Your partner calls. They’re screaming because you forgot to pick up the kids. They’ve been waiting for two hours. Remorse envelopes you. They say you are worthless. Your stomach drops. You feel low as you drive to get your kids. When you arrive, the kids are okay, but the word worthless, and the screaming, stick with you all week.
If you’ve ever made it past the honeymoon phase of an intimate relationship, you’ve probably experienced anger towards your partner and a fight or two. Even people in healthy, loving relationships can get so angry that they consider breaking up. Once we calm down, it can feel tempting to stuff the feelings and hope they don’t show up again.
If you’ve been keeping up with the news recently, you’re probably finding very good reasons to be angry. Between the abortion bans in Texas, rampant violence against women, and the mass deportation of Haitian refugees at the Texas border, it can feel like the world is in a constant state of upheaval.
Coronavirus. Protests against police brutality and racism. A country divided politically during an election year. How are you doing?
The past two weeks have been weird. Here in Philadelphia, we have been ordered to stay at home, except for essential personal activities. Schools are closed, many people are working from home, and it’s difficult to find a roll of toilet paper at the store.
Is anger putting your relationship or job at risk? Is it difficult to stay calm when others don’t do what you want them to do? Would like to have better control over your emotions?
A few weeks ago, I discovered that my landline was not working. I called the phone company and they scheduled for a technician to come out. While I waited a few days for the service call, the problem resolved, so when the technician came out, he couldn’t find anything wrong.
Are you struggling to keep your cool? Would you like to express how you feel without pushing away the people you love? Do you find it hard to stay calm when people don’t do what you want them to do?
Did it take you twice as long to get home yesterday? Do you feel like you can’t get anything done at work with all of these snow days? Is your patience for others dwindling quickly?
Last summer, my husband and I adopted a stray kitten. Zoey is adorable and I instantly fell in love with her. I smile and laugh more and she is great company on the days that I work from home.
Most of us spend our lives looking back at yesterday or thinking ahead to tomorrow. It’s when we’re focused on tomorrow that we can really set ourselves up for disappointment, and that’s because there is often a big gap between what we expect will happen and what actually does happen.