The One You Feed

Special Episode: How to Work with Anger

Mar 27, 2020

46:25

So many of us are feeling angry for a myriad of reasons amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. To help us better understand and work with our anger, Eric reached out to several previous guests of the show to ask them if they would be willing to talk with him for a special edition of The One You Feed Podcast about anger. They all generously agreed at a moment’s notice and this episode featuring 4 “mini-interviews” is the result. These are all new conversations with previous guests, Rick Hanson, Hilary Jacobs Hendel, Ruth King, and David Richo.

You can find all of the most up to date crisis help & support resources that Eric is making available through The One You Feed by going to www.oneyoufeed.net/help

In This Episode, We discuss How to Work with Anger and…

That anger is a natural and normal response
Utilizing anger rather than letting anger utilize us
How anger can feel good in the moment but it corrodes over time
Finding peace when confronted with the truth of uncertainty
Mindfully noticing and naming our anger
Anger being triggered by perceived danger and it readies us for a fight
The danger of blocking our anger
That we feel anger as energy that wants to get out
Using fantasy to release the energy of anger
When calm, making a list of “state-changers” for yourself
Noticing our coping strategies in the face of things we can’t control
The critical choice of what to do with the energy of anger
Being informed by our anger instead of reacting out of it
Channeling the energy in constructive ways rather than damaging ways
Getting curious about what the anger is trying to tell us – rather than focusing on what it’s saying about other people
Getting fiercely clear about rather than ablaze in the fire of our anger
When we’re in the anger, we lose touch with how it’s impacting our bodies
Setting the intention of doing no harm
That fear is often underneath anger
Not acting out of anger because it can be abusive