How do you normally handle rage?
Do you suppress it or express it?
Personally, whenever I feel the slightest bit of rage, I keep it within me and don’t let it out. I suppress it. After all, showing you’re angry is a bad thing, isn’t it?
A few days ago, I attended a workshop about rage. And we've covered a few exercises to “access” the rage inside you that hasn’t come out yet. The suppressed rage.
One of the exercises was to stand up, cover your mouth with your hands, and then scream into them while shaking your body (the other exercises were variations of this).
We went into free exploration, where we had about half an hour to connect with our rage. The whole room started screaming, started stomping on the ground, started being furious. Some people moved violently, while others just laid on the ground, crying in anger or sudden sadness.
I felt many different things, but I didn’t connect with my rage. I sensed a huge amount of energy inside me that needed to get out, but there wasn’t anything uncontrolled or furious about it. The energy I felt was like giving everything you’ve got during the last minute of a competition.
Having a place to really feel rage was new to me. Rage seems to be more than just fury or anger. Yes, often it’s a very destructive force. But it’s also something that can give you energy to create something entirely new.
Rage is a bit of a taboo. We all feel it, but we never talk about it. Let’s give it some space today and explore together 🔥
💡 Reflecting on Rage
(Like always, you can download the Notion template of this issue of Grow Your Mind to take structured notes.)
What is your relationship with rage?
How do you usually manage your feelings of rage? How do you experience and express rage? Do you suppress it, or does it erupt in full power whenever you feel it? Are these methods healthy and effective? What does rage mean to you and others?
Try the exercise from above for 5 minutes. How do you feel?
Find a private place and scream into your hands for five full minutes. Alternatively, you can also lie on the floor and stomp with your feet and hands on the ground while screaming violently. What does it do to your body and to your mind? What feelings and thoughts come up?
How could feeling and expressing rage be a positive force?
What would a life be without rage? How can you transform the rage you feel into something positive?
🙏 Thanks!
Thank you for reading and being part of Mental Garden. Like always, I sincerely hope you found this email useful.
Today was a bit more practical and less peaceful. I hope you liked this.
With gratitude,
Marc