Anger Snowball Effect

There are things that people do that will surely get under your skin. That’s just the way it is. It “is what it is”. I actually saw that quote on a license plate today. I laughed because I was angry at someone. It can feel like a veteran who dives onto the pavement when firecrackers go off across the road. There are things that will set us off. This goes for any one of us, not just trauma survivors. Our brains hold amazing webs of associations. This can be good or difficult. What we usually do though is get stuck on whatever the person who made us angry did. That’s not the thing that matters though. Because we ALL do things that piss other people off. The real important part is to learn how to detach from it when it’s happening and get back into our bodies instead of living in our thoughts. It probably would have been a better idea had I gone for a walk instead of sitting down and stewing about it. Walking is a great method to bring ourselves back into our body. Feeling our feet against the ground and experiencing all the sights, sounds, and aromas bring us back into a mindful state where our concerns become unimportant. Try to remember that we all go through this. Even that man walking down the city street arguing into the air. He is stuck in his thoughts and knows no other way but to remain in that cycle of thought, making his situation worse. When we understand that all humans share the problem of getting stuck in our heads, including us, our friends, our family, etc. then we can begin to view all people in the same way. Try to see yourself in that person who made you so angry. Although you may be nothing alike, realize that they too are having a response to your reaction which was in response to the action they took that was upsetting to you. And that snowball effect will continue forever if allowed to go unchecked.       

~Janice M. Burke

Image by Ivan Mudruck