Anger: The Missing Ingredient to Chronic Pain Recovery
Time and time again, when I experience a period of pain and anxiety flares, the trail of clues I receive when I listen to my body leads me back to this one underlying theme: Feeling guilty about feeling angry. Do you relate?
Anger can be an empowering, expansive emotion — an embodiment of our innate life force. Karla McLaren, the author of The Language of Emotions, does a beautiful job of exploring the purpose and beauty of anger in its authentic form.
Guilt, meanwhile, is a protective, contracting emotion. It’s designed to hold us back from doing things we identify as “bad.” If anger is a gas pedal, guilt can function like a brake pedal. And when our gas and brake pedals are pushed at the same time? Hello, tension, anxiety, and pain symptoms.
So why is guilt about anger so prevalent?
Were you taught that your anger is “bad”? And if so, have you ever questioned the agenda behind this lesson? What kind of system was it designed to serve?
Here’s a perspective to consider: A belief system that trains us to suppress anger is one that trains us to comply with authority — even when authority threatens our wellbeing and triggers our protective “fight” response.
