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If you’ve been paying attention to what’s happening in the world lately, you might find yourself filled with unquenchable rage.
But never fear, there are outlets for that.
What are some productive ways to let your anger out?
byu/Lornadoh inAskReddit
Let’s see how Reddit recommends we get out the mad.
1. THROW MARSHMALLOW!
For lower-stamina folks, throwing marshmallows is surprisingly therapeutic. Especially the campfire big kind.
They have just enough weight to hit the floor with a satisfying thud but they don’t bounce or break and there’s no secondary damage.
You could do it inside or outside.
– Venting2theDucks
2. KNIT!
Knitting. Whispering “stab it, strangle it, throw it off the cliff. Stab it, strangle it, throw it off the cliff.”
If that doesn’t work then sewing. Stabbing something over and over and over, then displaying it so everyone can see you have the patience to stab something thousands of times.
– Camp_Express
3. BOXING!
Boxing training
No sparring or anything if you’re not confident.
But it’s full on exercise and hitting a bag can really help you destress.
Plus it may be useful if you’re ever in danger
– DavosLostFingers
4. UNDERSTAND!
State to yourself what it is your angry about and then find a useful way to phrase it and communicate it to the person making you feel angry if it’s something that you feel is likely to change or due to a misunderstanding.
– memilygiraffily
5. SCREAM AT BIRD!
Scream at birds on your front lawn.
You get the birds off your lawn and your neighbors will never talk to you because they think you’re crazy.
Two birds, one stone.
– Simple_Atmosphere
6. FIND YOUR ZEN.
Writing in a journal can be very therapeutic.
Breathing exercises to calm yourself down.
Listen to your favorite songs – make playlists ahead of time so you’ll have the right one ready that best suits your mood.
– booksoverppl
7. BAKE COOKIE!
I’ve found making some kind of baked good like the basic Nestlé cookies recipe is pretty effective.
Measuring everything helps put you back in a more controlled mindset but you can get pretty aggressive when you’re creaming the sugars and butter.
Then you need to dial it back to mix the flour in because violence isn’t the only way to express anger.
Put those cookies in the oven and have a good think about why you’re so angry, and once the cookies are out have a chat with them about why they won’t accept your aspirations of being a pro wrestler.
– brumagem
8. NEEDLE FELTING!
It’s a craft where you stab wool with special barbed needles to form it into 3D felt shapes. So whenever I’m angry, I stab for a few hours and usually get a cool dragon/sea monster/Mothman/incredibly round bird out of it (to name a few of my past projects).
And yes, relevant username. 😛
– FeltAndFurious
9. DIG A HOLE!
Splitting wood with a maul or digging postholes.
They need to get done anyway and they don’t take a lot of focus.
Half a face cord or two 4-foot holes should cool you down pretty quick.
– Ghostmerc86
10. SNAP!
Snapping my fingers or making a fist: if I can’t exercise or punch a pillow, snapping my fingers can help.
My anger is very physical, and snapping as hard as I can is a harmless way to make a forceful and loud movement.
If it’s too loud for the situation, just clenching a fist as hard as possible, releasing it and stretching the fingers, then clenching again on repeat – helps if I tense my whole arm up too
– RandomPerson004
11. RIP!
Ripping paper: just take a couple sheets of paper and rip it into smaller and smaller pieces, combining them to be as thick as possible while still rip-able
– RandomPerson004
12. WRITE!
Whenever I can’t exercise or burn out the feelings, I write
Pour your heart out.. and if you’re worried that someone else may read it later, you can burn it to release the energy
– ChoiceFabulous
13. MUSIC!
I like music, cleaning (with music) walks (with music); and if I’m really angry, (this may sound stupid, but it’s extremely effective) I write a letter about it, that will never be seen by anyone but me, where I can vent all the angry thoughts and get them out of me without hurting anyone.
– someawfulb**ch
14. RAGE CLEAN!
Rage-cleaning. Grab that f**king laundry basket and throw all your stupid clothes in it. Stomp all the way to the washer/dryer. Furiously mop your godd**ned floor. Get into your garden and lose it on the f**king weeds.
I may have used this method before. It’s a good way to use your angry energy to achieve a somewhat positive result. I find it helps if you mutter under your breath too.
– Bilal826
15. IT DEPENDS!
Remember that anger is complex emotions masquerading as a simple one. Fear is a simple emotion, but anger never is. With that in mind:
Anger is often a response to overwhelming fear beyond our control…basically fear crossed with helplessness. If your anger is of that kind:
Biking. There’s the delightful thrill of speed that hijacks the anger adrenaline, and the action/response feedback loop (pedal harder/go faster) is both gratifying and instantaneous which short circuits the helplessness.
Anger is also often a result of accumulating hurts (sometimes irrational ones) that don’t always register on their own. Being treated poorly at work, being treated contemptuously by a lover, not making progress at the gym. If your anger is of that kind:
Movies, books, music…anything that sparks sympathetic emotion. Not sympathetic and empathetic in the “Oh that poor thing, how sad” way…sympathetic in the “internalizing someone else’s emotions” way.
Once you are internalizing someone else’s feelings and experience you can usually follow the trails back to your own and have more compassion for yourself. This usually brings you back to a more productive way forward.
There was a time in my life when I was on a path to miserable, angry misogyny, and my over-the-top emotional response to Cheryl Strayed’s Wild opened my soul to see that ugliness inside of me, and confront it.
– powderizedbookworm
16. Exercise!
I have PTSD and have lived with anger and anger issues for most of my life. For me, nothing beats exercise. I like to lift weights. It completely takes the edge off. Heavy bag work is good for cardio and anger abatement. Yoga is great for both exercise and meditation.
There is no one exercise type that is right for everyone. Try different things until you find one that you will do consistently. It could be running, swimming, lifting, yoga, martial arts, etc. Figure out what works best for you.
Also, consider your diet. I found that some foods messed with my stomach. This in turn messed with my head, which brought out the anger. Over time I have eliminated various foods from my diet and it has really helped.
Finally, get your sleep dialed in. Try to get 8 hours a night. If possible, the same 8 hours. I go to bed around 12am and get up around 8am. Being consistent has been huge for me.
It may seem like a lot, but once you get into a constructive, healthy lifestyle, your mood will improve, your anger will be manageable, and your general quality of life will improve.
– JackFunk
17. Dragon Breath!
A rather uncommon and odd one that I often use is silent screaming (or Dragon Breath as I like to call it).
I simply press my face deep into a pillow and blow air out from my lungs with my mouth wide open, but without using the muscles to move my vocal cords. So I get the energy release of screaming very loud, without actually screaming.
This can work very well if you’re mad at something or someone. Just visualize said cause of anger while you do this.
I personally find once the energy is out, I’m no longer angry.
– TheeBlackBird71
18. Find your thing!
It very much depends on the person.
Some people just need alone time, some people need distraction, some people need to climb a mountain and scream.
Try them all out until one clicks
– TheseConversations
19. Duke it out in your head!
I like to have a full on imaginary argument with whoever I am angry with in the shower.
I win the argument of course – I keep my cool and have all the perfect comebacks and the person is left shattered. So satisfying.
– whimsythings
20. Take a breath!
STOP.
BREATHE. (Close your eyes if possible)
DEEP LONG BREATHS.
Count slowly until you can rational think again.
You can’t always get to a punching bag, or a pillow. Sometimes you’ll find yourself needing to deal with that anger while in a conversation, in a public place, in front of impressionable people, etc.
I’m guessing you may be asking for yourself or for someone you know rather than genuine curiosity.
people may look at you funny, but you’ll look even more ridiculous yelling, hitting something, or breaking something.
The goal is to get past the anger so you can actually think and solve the issue that’s causing the anger.
If you tend to see red, have a short fuse, or embarrassment turns into anger, breathing and counting can really turn things around.
To help facilitate this, practice breathing techniques whenever you’re mindful of it.
There are many attributing factors to anger, so it’s not a blanket fix. The goal is to slow the body’s physical reaction, and regain your ability to THINK and therefore function.
I’m still working to overcome my own issues, and these techniques help.
Also never be afraid to reach out to someone or write down your feelings when they come to mind.
Good luck !
– JustABoyAndHisBlob
21. Shift your focus!
Not focus on your anger and doing something that makes you feel a different emotion.
The more you stay angry, the more you reinforce the feeling. Obviously there are times where you should be angry, but I think we’re talking about when you’re done being angry.
Comedy is good, creativity, dancing, I tend to clean when I’m angry.
– mad_fishmonger
22. Write it out!
Writing is a very good alternative for many, whether in a journal (which of course needs to be secured) or in the form of “Dear Diary” rants or “letters” to the offending party/parties.
Access to a fireplace, fire pit, or shredder is also handy.
Write it, read it, sleep on it, read it again, burn it, and move on.
– Midas_Artflower
23. Garden!
Gardening.
Hear me out.
Not watering cans and picking berries, but digging a 3’ hole to plant a shrub, cutting down an invasive vine, filling up a green bin with 200lbs of clippings.
My yard has never looked better than right now. Which is both good and bad.
– swagnersf
24. Break stuff with permission!
Oh yeah so it’s these places where it’s part bar to buy drinks and part stress reliever where you pay to be placed in an enclosed area and just go ape s**t and break everything in that room
– Rando_Cruzzer
25. Break a bottle!
Break a bottle in a thick double layered plastic bag with a hammer/mallet(be careful, wear goggles/gloves).
Really feeling mad?
Put six. Go to town. Let it out.
Then stop. Breath. Say I’m better than this. You’re a good person.
Then get a broom and sweep it up.
If anyone asks, just tell them you love them and ask for a hug. They’ll get it.
– westerngermany
26. Stress sock!
I have a “stress sock.” Every time someone makes me angry at work (high stress job) I knit a row.
Eventually, I have a sock and feel like I channeled my anger into something productive.
That or I go for a walk. Just get up from my desk and walk.
– SherLochNessMonster
27. Hike!
Go on a hike uphill and walk really fast whenever you have the urge to blow a fuse.
On the way and at the end you’ll have some kind of nice view to enjoy.
Plus you would have gotten that much more in shape.
Enjoy.
– CrunchyJeans
28. Talk!
Gotta talk it out eventually. Call a friend or someone you can confide and tell them all about what’s got you angry.
Exercise, drums, whacking a tree with a stick, screaming in the woods, all these things release energy which is good.
But if that thing you’re angry about is a recurring thing, you must resolve it through talking.
No matter what, remember, it’s a ok to feel angry.
It’s a legitimate emotion. Just do your best not to dump it on anyone.
(Venting to a friend about it isn’t dumping, because you’re not directing the anger at them.)
– PatToole
29. Destroy!
Destroying something.
I once did this with an old bench that I was reducing for firewood anyway and I felt so much better afterward.
But if you don’t have something like that, using sticks in a thicket of trees works great.
– spaloof
30. WRITE!
Writing it out: I like to write out my angry rants with as many cathartic expletives as I need.
I write it with the intention of showing it to someone, then delete it or leave it unsent.
Taking the time to think it through and write it down usually helps me calm down
– RandomPerson004
These suggestions are good! So good theY MAKE ME ANGRY!
What suggestions would you give?
Tell us in the comments.
