Turning Anger into Positivity
I had a tricky start today. I woke up feeling a lot of anger and resentment towards my family as I am missing out on something highly important to me today. I struggled to shake this anger but I didn’t want to let it ruin my day. I realised that on top of this, I was highly stressed over my trial shift tomorrow. I decided to use my toolbox of DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy) skills to help reshape my mood and reduce my anger.
My morning began with a heavy heart as I felt both a sense of grief over a family member and stress over my impending trial shift. I recognised that I couldn’t sit here all day and do nothing, I need to snap out of it.
I decided to find a guided meditation on YouTube and landed on a fantastic one based on letting go of current emotions. If you are interested the link is below. Unfortunately, the video isn’t rendering on Medium so I can only post the link.
After my guided meditation, I decided to use the TIPP skill to regulate my emotions and focus on positive thoughts.
How I used the TIPP skill:
- Temperature: I placed an ice pack on my forehead, neck, and wrists. The sensory stimulation helped me focus on a feeling that isn’t related to anger.
- Intense exercise: I wasn’t in the mood to do exercise so I replaced this with housework in order to focus my mind on something different.
- Paced breathing: During my housework, I applied a rhythmic pattern of breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. This helped to regulate my breathing patterns and therefore reduce feelings of anger. Paced breathing activates the relaxation response and is a crucial tool in returning to a non-emotional state.
- Paired muscle relaxation: Also during my clean, I decided to tense and intense the muscles that were being actively used. This is another crucial focus point that can be used to activate the relaxation response.
Both I and Layla spotted a noticeable shift in my mood after I applied the TIPP skill to my day. The day became highly positive and we had a lovely afternoon together.
As the day winds down, I plan on having a nice warm shower before work tomorrow. This feels like the final step in reducing residual stress and truly accepting my happy emotions. I’m having spaghetti Bolognese (my favourite!) tonight and I’m very excited.
As I conclude this reflection on my day, I want to express my gratitude to you, the reader, for joining me on this journey. I hope that by sharing my story I can inspire and guide people to think about their inner emotions and navigate them through life happily and healthily. Goodbye for now.
