Anger & resentment

Anger is not a problem but what you do with it can be.

Sometimes anger comes out fast. Other times it gets pushed down and turns into resentment that can build to a mountain, over time.

Anger does not always look angry. Sometimes is it passive and you seem to be ‘holding it together’ while feeling tension, frustration or withdrawal inside. Sometimes you say things that you later regret. Sometimes you say things that seem out of proportion because they are an accumulation of a hundred things you have held back from saying.

Anger is often a signal that something is not being respected about your boundaries, that your values have been compromised or that something needs to change.

We can slow this process down and learn how to get underneath it because when anger gets ignored or suppressed, it doesn’t disappear: it tends to show up sideways. And, when anger comes out without control, it can damage the relationships that matter most. It can also damage our sense of self.

Therapy might help you with:

• understanding what is driving your anger
• noticing where anger been pushed down for too long
• finding a way to express anger without blowing things up or shutting down