How Processing Rage Saved My Life

Content note: mention of suicial ideation

I used to be terrified of my rage.

I had so much anger at the world and it was so so valid, but I didn't know how to deal with the immense energy in my body. And because I didn't know what to do with it, my anger became really destructive. I caused harm to many loved ones, ruptured relationships, and internalized this rage into suicidal ideation.

As I learned about the importance of expressing and releasing my anger (vs. internalizing it), I entered into the practice of intentional anger expression. Rage cannot be suppressed, and so we practice expressing it intentionally, in structured and consensual ways. As I practiced, I experienced the felt-sense shift in my body that as I released some of this energy, I could become much more tactful and strategic with how I use my anger as a liberatory mobilizer.

Learning to process my rage saved my life. And it continues to help me maintain relationships across difference and conflict and cultivate trust within myself. Mobilizing my anger made space for softening into my grief, which then helped me create space for and practice intentional joy and ease. I began to feel capable of rage, capable of conflict, capable of grief, capable of ease. I began to feel much more connected in my relationships, with myself, with my ancestors, and the general collective.

Processing rage has been one of the most liberatory practices of my life and I want to extend an invitation to you into this practice.