Monday, April 4, 2022

Rage: How to deal with anger (video)

Patti Carmalt-Vener (Pasadena Weekly; 5/23/16); Pfc. Sandoval, Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
What the H is wrong with everyone?!
Dear Patti, I’m angry and annoyed all the time, and I’ve been that way for a while. It seems like I’ve spent my life always doing what I’m supposed to do. My enlistment in the armed services at a young age was because my parents wanted me to get a free education.

I got married early, had three kids, and that’s okay because I love my family. Immature as this sounds, however, I sometimes resent paying for everything for everybody else and not getting much out of it.

Recently my oldest daughter needed a prom dress and it cost over $200. I couldn’t help but think how I could’ve spent that money on golf or a trip (which I rarely get a chance to do).

"Degrade School" (Jen Sorensen comic, Pasadena Weekly/jensorensen.com)
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I made a few snarky comments about the price of the dress, and I know I hurt my daughter and my wife. I feel terrible about it, and that’s not who I want to be.

This morning I was stuck in traffic and became so enraged that I wanted to take off in my truck, leave everything and everybody behind, buy a bike, go golfing, and just do whatever I want.

These feelings of being cheated are almost always out of proportion to the situation. Abandoning or acting out against my family in the long run would destroy me and isn’t what I want to do.
— James

Therapeutic advice
Thai Buddhas (nattapan72)
Dear James, anger is a normal emotion all people experience in reaction to hurt. It’s becoming clear to you that you or others have denied you experiences or life choices that you now regret not having.

The result is a buildup of intense hurt and resentment that at times — especially when your needs or desires are once again ignored or put on a back burner — become overwhelming, causing your defensive responses to interfere with your relationships.

Unfortunately, the more you ignore the part of you that feels so neglected and dismissed, the brattier and more unreasonable you may become.

The longer you ignore your anger and keep pushing it below the surface, the greater the likelihood that you’ll keep losing control and your reactions will continue to be stronger than the situation actually warrants. More

The Buddha faces anger

(The Life Academy) The Buddha and the Angry Man is a powerful short wisdom story on managing our anger and emotions.

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