Societal norms dictate that women aren’t supposed to show or express burst of anger. It isn’t “ladylike.” Such expectations cause women to bottle up emotion and internalize their hurts, which is terrible for their health. As you’ve likely heard before, confronting your anger, not dealing with it, or suppressing it causes dis-ease in the body, which can ultimately lead to disease in your body. Holding in your anger will make you sick. You might not be sick in the next week or so, but you’ll pay a physical price for holding in anger.
It’s time that women start confronting and processing their anger. This current political climate, if anything, is causing women to express themselves…anger and all. We need to celebrate and encourage this behavior. When a woman comes into my office distressed over betrayal trauma, I know the initial work that needs to be done surrounds her anger.
Confronting your anger isn’t scary—you won’t lose control. What you do gain from confronting your anger is a huge emotional release. You feel better afterward. You sleep better. Working on release the anger will help you be able to move through to the next stage of grief. You cannot get to the end of the grief cycle and experience the good that you’re meant to until you work through your anger. If you feel stuck, regardless of the issue, contact Mending Hearts Counseling at 970-545-1111 (serving Fort Collins, Greeley, Windsor, and Loveland area of northern Colorado) for an appointment.