If you find yourself getting angry more often than you’d like, it may be time to take an interest in reducing your stress levels. It’s the weekend. You come home from an afternoon with friends. The sink is full of dishes from breakfast and lunch
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?
Are you feeling uncomfortable? The death of George Floyd and the resulting protests, riots, and looting, and calls to action have led to a lot of strong emotions. These feelings range from anger and rage to sadness, fear, and confusion to hope and can feel uncomfortable.