Feasting on Anger: How to Break the Pattern of Avoidance

🎧 Episode #60 Feasting on Anger: How to Break the Pattern of Avoidance

Do you have difficulty handling strong emotions like anger or frustration?

Do you find yourself reaching for distractions like food or shopping or alcohol to deal with stress or emotional overload?

What does it look like to process emotions like anger successfully? 

In this episode, I talk about my own negative thinking patterns, and how I convert anger into overeating through destructive habits that I formed when I was a young child.

This episode is filled with hope and honesty about what it takes to face your uncomfortable feelings, sit with them, and ultimately make peace with them, thereby disrupting negative, fear-based habits.

💭Key Takeaways from this Episode:

• Anger and other strong emotions can push us to distraction or avoidance behaviors that are more harmful than the uncomfortable feelings.
• Using movement (walking, strength training) can reaffirm our mind/body connection in a way that both defuses the hold of negative emotions and gives us clarity to help confront and sit with uncomfortable feelings.
• Asking yourself a series of questions about your feelings (e.g., What is this anger trying to tell me?) is a great way to reduce the intensity of the feelings (and actually learn from them).
• When you can't confront a person who made you angry, or can't resolve the situation to prevent further anger, you must reframe your thinking so that you don't hold onto anger. Some anger shouldn't be owned – leave it behind with the person who wronged you and let go. Never take ownership of toxic anger stemming from another person's messed-up thinking or behavior.

Journal Prompts to Help You Process Anger and Other Strong Emotions

Here are some journal prompts to help you learn from your strong emotions through inquiry and acceptance. Write or reflect on these questions:

Sometimes you have to take on the anger to keep a situation tenable. Just make sure that you don’t take it to heart. There’s a big difference between feeling angry at someone else and directing that anger inward toward yourself. Don’t get it twisted. The more you sit with your feelings and explore them, the more you realize how fleeting they are, how wise and protective they can be, and how feeling them won’t break you. You don’t need to numb out to get through life, but you might have to talk to yourself. It’s OK, we all feel a bit “crazy” sometimes, and while it may be a struggle, we usually return to a more hopeful place. I call it the bright side of the beat.🌞

Podcast Music: My thanks to all the musicians who make incredible music and have the courage to put it out into the world. All music and sound effects for my podcast are sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Songs in this podcast episode: Don Cheadle by GRAMATTYK; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World

Related Episodes:

Personal Growth Is In the Process: How to Love Where You Are (Episode #42)

The Power of Habits: A Poetic Exploration on Building Healthy Routines (episode #34)

Build a Personal Growth Practice (with Creative Self-Care) (Episode #14)

Sitting with Shitty Feelings (episode #4)

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Journaling Resources

30-Day Journal Challenge (Writing Prompts to Get Started)

Here’s a fun & simple 30-day journal challenge for beginners (or those who need inspiration). Use the daily prompts to rediscover yourself.

Let the Verse FlowJill Hodge

Journaling 101: An Inspirational Guide to Start (or Revive) a Practice

Whether you write, doodle, draw, or keep memorable quotes, journaling uncovers YOU. Let your unconscious mind speak, download my free guide.

Let the Verse FlowJill Hodge

Let the Verse Flow (and its companion newsletter Flow & Voice) is a creative project created with love by writer, podcast host, and narrator Jill Hodge. If you subscribe today, you'll have full access to the website and newsletter, including articles, podcast episodes, and the Flow & Voice monthly note. Members are vital to building a rich community of diverse voices. Join us by subscribing today; consider a paid subscription to support Jill's work. Thank you!