Activities to do when you are angry

Anger is a valid and vital emotion for looking after ourselves. It lets us know that we have been hurt, our boundaries have not been respected or our needs have not been met.

Anger is also a common symptom of experiencing trauma, feeling invalidated and misheard. It is important that we learn how to release our anger safely and effectively. For some of us, this may not have been modeled effectively in our childhood or maybe you were not allowed to express your emotions in a safe environment.

Now as an adult, I have put a list of strategies together that help me cope with anger. As a consumer I often searched for a list, but couldn’t find one that suited me. So I made one 🙂

I recommend printing these off and exploring which one’s fit with you. The strategies are different occupations (activities) that you could do alone and without others noticing.

For clinicians:

• I have placed these strategies into flash card so that they could be cut and pasted into a weekly schedule, kept as a reminder in a clients’ wallet for example or stuck on a wall.
• I recommend having them laminated so the likelihood of them being used and not lost will be increased. (As consumers we are given so many handouts)
• I have also made some blank cards for consumers to draw out their own strategies
• Be mindful that some strategies may require equipment (e.g. playdoh/Plasticine), may be dependent on the weather and the space available.
• I recommend exploring strategies that vary in their demands, skill level and ease of use.
• Instead of giving the sheet to your client, talk and practice how these could be used.
• Tip: for consumers that are easily overwhelmed by lots of information (like myself) use your reasoning to select a couple of cards first rather than all 50 of them.
• If you would like any additional strategies added to the cards let me know!
• Please note, boxing is a strategy I have put into the cards. It is very effective for me personally but I would check with your organisation whether this is something you generally recommend and who it is appropriate for.