It’s been a tough few weeks for me for a variety of reasons. The most annoying of which started when someone bumped into the back of my car a couple of weekends ago. What followed was then a series of frustrating conversations with various insurance and garage companies that now thankfully seems to be getting resolved with no cost to me. (I also currently have a nice little courtesy car to drive while my car is getting fixed, courtesy of the other guy’s insurance.)
This process has made me realise that maybe I’m not quite as good at dealing with my anger as I would like to be. It is frustrating when other people or companies disrupt your life because of their mistakes or incompetency. But I have to ask myself, is it worth the health problems I might cause myself from a good shouting session? (Or the noise disturbance to the neighbours?)
What’s the alternative though? To bottle up all the anger? Then I think of the wise words from Jack Nicholson in the film Anger Management:
“There are two kinds of angry people – explosive and implosive. Explosive is the type of individual you see screaming at the cashier for not taking his coupon. Implosive is the cashier who remains quiet day after day and then finally shoots everyone in the store. “
So my advice then, that I clearly also need to give to myself, is to find healthy ways to release your anger. (For anyone that has seen the film Anger Management then I refer you to the amusing singing scene on the bridge in traffic.) Anger, like many other emotions, is very difficult to avoiding feeling but what you can control is how you deal with it. Whether it’s talking it over with a neutral person, going for a run, killing some zombies in a computer game or sipping a glass of wine in a hot bath. Find out what works for you. But certainly don’t bottle it up because who knows what you might end up doing after a while of doing that.
