ANGER!!!!!

How people here deal with their anger?

Reading and hearing the news lately is making me SOOOO angry, I'm a bit shocked at myself. I like to think that I normally try to maintain a reasonably placid outlook, but today I've had steam coming out my ears as each new story comes out - (all discussed elsewhere so I'm not going to list them here).

The question is - what can I do about it? Now, I know I can go for a walk listen to music, or do yoga etc.

I suppose What I really mean is - is there anything I can do constructively to channel this anger to a worthy end?

Any one have any ideas?

Go for a run, write poetry, take up painting, join a rugby club, join a choir, join a dramatic society, write a strongly worded letter, join a political party....

any of the above take your fancy?

Call of Duty god mode...

yehbut_nobut wrote:

How people here deal with their anger?

Reading and hearing the news lately is making me SOOOO angry, I'm a bit shocked at myself. I like to think that I normally try to maintain a reasonably placid outlook, but today I've had steam coming out my ears as each new story comes out - (all discussed elsewhere so I'm not going to list them here).

The question is - what can I do about it? Now, I know I can go for a walk listen to music, or do yoga etc.

I suppose What I really mean is - is there anything I can do constructively to channel this anger to a worthy end?

Any one have any ideas?

I feel the same. I don't know how people stay so calm. On constructively channelling it, I suggest studying the causes of what is happening, looking for alternatives, and organising and linking with other people who feel the same.

Get the bastardos that's making you angry....

Thanks folks, already some good suggestions (knew I could count on ye )

Almost feel people should be taking to the streets (and not just the pensioners, lol).

I read a novel where, in protest at a coorrupt government, some poeple burst into the TV studio during the evening news and asked people who were unhappy with the regime to go to their back door and make some noise - bang a pot, or a dustbin lid or whatever.

A great description of how the silence in a city street was broken by a tinny clang, then the noise spread, untill up and down the land a cacophony of noise was all that could be heard.

THAT'S how angry I feel!!!!

(although I'm not going to storm montrose!)

The Government would fall within 5 days if a mere 500 people were bothered enough to cross the threshold and sit in the carpark of Leinster House.

johnfás wrote:

The Government would fall within 5 days if a mere 500 people were bothered enough to cross the threshold and sit in the carpark of Leinster House.

Quite possibly - but I'm not hoping to foment insurrection here! Maybe just seeking a way to let the powers that be (but never do) know how we are feeling.

It is we, isn't it? I can't be the only one?

I think red meat has a real effect. Normally I dont eat much but the last week, I've been going out on dinner meetings and have had too much red meat. If I eat veggies I tend to be more docile.

physical sports and love making can certainly help though.

Of course the national political problems, where we see corruption and injustice carry on at a high level is something that can only really be cured by some kind of stoic rationalisation and if possible action on a personal part.

yehbut_nobut wrote:

johnfás wrote:

The Government would fall within 5 days if a mere 500 people were bothered enough to cross the threshold and sit in the carpark of Leinster House.

Quite possibly - but I'm not hoping to foment insurrection here! Maybe just seeking a way to let the powers that be (but never do) know how we are feeling.

It is we, isn't it? I can't be the only one?

Me too, so we it is.

johnfás wrote:

Go for a run, write poetry, take up painting, join a rugby club, join a choir, join a dramatic society, write a strongly worded letter, join a political party....

any of the above take your fancy?

That's probably the worst way to try and channel your anger into something positive.

I used to be angry about stuff, and I joined a party to try and 'make a difference' and all that student bollocks. I'm telling you, I think the sole purpose of political parties in this country is to take idealistic people who might actually want to change something and then grind them down with meaningless committee meetings and pointless back-stabbing and feuding so as to quickly turn them into apathetic yes-men.

Now, I don't really get angry about politics. Pissed off, bemused, faintly sickened, and occasionally satisfied, yes. But nothing as powerful as anger. I feel detached from it. Instead I've tried to channel my idealism, or whatever's left of it, into my work in legal matters. Unlike in politics, you can't change societal structures or general policies, but you can make some positive impact individually on your clients' lives. Which is something, I suppose.

Another lawyer!

Wanna give me a job?

johnfás wrote:

Another lawyer!

Wanna give me a job?

Ha, I'm struggling enough myself I'm afraid! Poor lawyers, I'm sure everyone's heart bleeds...

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

yehbut_nobut wrote:

johnfás wrote:

The Government would fall within 5 days if a mere 500 people were bothered enough to cross the threshold and sit in the carpark of Leinster House.

Quite possibly - but I'm not hoping to foment insurrection here! Maybe just seeking a way to let the powers that be (but never do) know how we are feeling.

It is we, isn't it? I can't be the only one?

Me too, so we it is.

Well, three is a crowd.

Respvblica wrote:

I think red meat has a real effect. Normally I dont eat much but the last week, I've been going out on dinner meetings and have had too much red meat. If I eat veggies I tend to be more docile.

physical sports and love making can certainly help though.

Of course the national political problems, where we see corruption and injustice carry on at a high level is something that can only really be cured by some kind of stoic rationalisation and if possible action on a personal part.

Forget the above. People need to be angry. Being content in the face of injustice is wrong! In politics nothing meaningful was ever achieved by happy content people.

People in Ireland should have been angry from 2000 onwards as that was when the rot at the top returned with a vengence.

Im getting a big fuck off poster made -one to put on top of the car - so I can drive around with "I TOLD YA FECKIN WELL SO" in everybody's face!!!

Im just cynical now - In the end - all that matters to the vast majority of the population is how heavy or light that their pockets are feeling - end of the story - and that decides everything.

FF essentially doing nothing different than they were 4 years ago when it comes to how they are running the government - yet the arse has fallen out of their opinion poll ratings - likewise FG are doing nada different than they were 4 years ago - yet their ratings are going thru the roof - only thing that is different is the economy - that illusion that every single git in this country bought into - has collapsed and we are desperate to blame somebody. Look at the FAS debacle - the only reason the vast majority are angry is because they are dead jealous that they didn't have the opportunity themselves - even more so now when they are fearing for their own jobs and income - 4 years ago it might have got page 10 in the Irish Times - nobody would have paid much interest to it - because they were speeding ahead to the property porn supplement and living the dream of ever increasing house prices.

Maybe cos Im entering the middle third of my life - Im somewhere between angry young man and grumpy old man - Im probably at my calmest . Also , being unemployed,virtually broke and living back with my folks provokes a certain type of clear vision - how much worse can things possibly get - and in a way , for all the doomster talk - we could be a hell of a lot worse off , collectively, we'll definitely be the best well off recession generation in the history of humankind!

Do something positive, use and channel the anger to help yourself - nobody finds anger very attractive - get a plan together and start going on it - turn off the news, dont read the papers - I used to feel like I had the whole world on my shoulders after reading the papers in the morning - now I get up , go for a run , and breath deeply - its good to be alive - after that just take it one step at a time - you wont change the world in a day - but after that - you'd be surprised.

double post -oops

maybe I Should have gone to this workshop http://thegiftofanger.blogspot.com/

Im trying not to be angry that i missed it, though!

Just found this quote from Rudolf Steiner:

Quote :

anger is also the harbinger of something quite
different. Life shows us that a person who is unable to flare up with anger
at injustice or folly will never develop true kindness and love. Equally, a
person who educates himself through noble anger will have a heart abounding
in love, and through love he will do good. Love and kindness are the obverse
of noble anger. Anger that is overcome and purified will be transformed into
the love that is its counterpart. A loving hand is seldom one that has never
been clenched in response to injustice or folly. Anger and love are
complementary.

Anger as a teacher, hmm... that's quite something.

Edo wrote:

Do something positive, use and channel the anger to help yourself - nobody finds anger very attractive - get a plan together and start going on it - turn off the news, dont read the papers - I used to feel like I had the whole world on my shoulders after reading the papers in the morning - now I get up , go for a run , and breath deeply - its good to be alive - after that just take it one step at a time - you wont change the world in a day - but after that - you'd be surprised.

Sounds like a plan to me, particularly the bit about news & the papers, sensationalist negative rubbish for the most part.

tonys wrote:

Edo wrote:

Do something positive, use and channel the anger to help yourself - nobody finds anger very attractive - get a plan together and start going on it - turn off the news, dont read the papers - I used to feel like I had the whole world on my shoulders after reading the papers in the morning - now I get up , go for a run , and breath deeply - its good to be alive - after that just take it one step at a time - you wont change the world in a day - but after that - you'd be surprised.

Sounds like a plan to me, particularly the bit about news & the papers, sensationalist negative rubbish for the most part.

Do you think I could make them turn off Joe Duffy at work, under health and safety regulations?

Anger ... have you read The Catcher in the Rye ? People either love or hate Holden Caulfield but he lives in such a shit world where characters and friends are two-dimensional and want to do fbck all about the shit the world is in. Holden cusses a lot too and in the end ends up in a mental home, hope I haven't ruined it for someone nearing the final chapter.

Have you seen the film Brazil ? That's the scariest film of all time - it'll haunt me until the day I die. It was originally going to be called "1984 And A Half" so that's the lineage of the film. Futuristic technological Utopia featuring Orwellesque landscapes and 1950s automobiles and modern day S.W.A.T. teams who swoop into your house to punish underground D.I.Y terrorists who fix your plumbing for nothing. What an imagination Gilliam has. The heroine who you think will save you and who you dream about ends up betraying you and as you lay on the torture table waiting for the final blow you look up to see that the day is saved and the Underground D.I.Y. plumbers now have machiine pistols and are assaulting the ruling totalitarian superstructure right before your eyes - hooray we're saved just like in the cowboys and indians movies...

except you're not being saved, you're in a state of shock and dreaming of this as they are lobotomising you.

The worst thing about letting anger get the better of you is the apathy afterwards at the desperate futility of trying to do anything against shite odds.

Sweet dreams.

The thing with anger is that it builds up. That is why it can be such a frightening emotion. All these little things annoy you and then suddenly you hit breaking point.

The way to deconsruct anger is to take it apart in the same manner that it built up, bit by bit.

I have been feeling a build up lately too and I have questioned how long will it be before there is widespread anger.

My solution has been to talk about it to people. I have written to and telephoned TDs and ministers to express my displeasure. I have spoken to many like-minded people which has arranged my anger into some sort of coherent order.

I have done some concrete things to try to make a difference such as lodging a complaint to the EU. I got stickers made up telling people not to fall for the home choice scheme and have found it to be a great stress reliever going around sticking them in prominent places. I'm going to keep niggling Triodos to open up to the Irish market.

I genuinely feel I am doing something proactive and it makes me feel a whole lot better.

Don't get down because of other people's apathy. We all work at different speeds and if you can calm the storm by taking small but effective actions you are doing the whole country a favour. I shudder to think about the civil unease if everybody was at the same anger level as some of us!

Thanks goodness we have the internet with fora like this for venting.

eoinmn wrote:

Thanks goodness we have the internet with fora like this for venting.

Hear hear!