Weaponized positivity.

Scream into a pillow.

Argue with yourself from the other perspective.

Think “Fuck you! I’m going to make the world a better place!” And then actually do something constructive with all the energy your anger gave you.

Kill pixels and destroy the pixelated worlds of video games and then create a paradise in it.

Music

Shouting and cursing at my computer. It definitely helps with debugging, too.

Exercise and processing emotion without letting yourself explode from it. Then, assess how you felt and determine how to avoid the situation in the future. If possible, talk to the person or people who you would like to build a better, healthier relationship with. Or, leave that portion of your life if possible, if it is truly toxic.

Punk rock karaoke

Have you considered playing the drums?

Heavy metal. Literally. Singing, listening, playing, headbanging to heavy metal. Just like listening to sad music helps with sadness because it provides a safe outlet for emotion. So does engaging with angry music. Some of the mildest, most accepting and emotionally well adjusted people I’ve met were metal heads. And they were social activists as well.

Get some time and space to yourself, 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the complexity of the situation. Think about exactly who/what you are angry with, and why (including yourself*). Don’t worry about solving it, just get it front and center in your mind. Pile up a huge number of couch cushions. Beat the ever livin’ fuck out of them with your fists and feet until you break down or wear yourself out. Repeat as necessary.

*Note: One of the reasons some emotional things never die is because we try to solve them without including ourselves from the equation: we see forgiveness is needed but we don’t include ourselves, for example, or guilt needs addressing but we don’t want to measure our own part in it because someone else’s betrayal was so overwhelming, thus it’s almost unbearable to think of the self as participatory in that destruction. Yet those are examples of exactly the kind of inner situation that keep us stuck in unhealthy emotional patterns. If you really want to get out of an emotional trap, including anger that doesn’t quit, and you think you’ve tried everything, try specifically looking for exactly what you don’t want to see about your own part in it.

Protesting, peacefully

Invest in a manual typewriter and cathartically type out ranty letters by pressing each key as hard as possible.

Playing competitive video games (might not be healthy for everybody)

These “isms and phobias” are used as excuses to rationalize violence, but really they are just excuses based on irrationality and on hurtful stereotypes.

So if you’re angry about someone or some group of people, the way you handle it positively is to use that energy to lift up people.

Instead of being negative and downward, trying to stomp on other people like they are bugs, what about trying to get to where you can help someone who is struggling. Doesn’t have to be a person of the group you hate, but anyone who needs a helping hand.

Think of it this way, the person you’re really mostly hurting when you’re out of control angry, is yourself. All that energy expended on bitterness and stress - why not instead use it to go out and be proactive with people. The world is a stupid place, so - go flip it the bird by helping someone out.

It sounds weird I know. I’m usually a pretty angry reactive person. At the store yesterday, a lady was buying like eight cartons of soda, so I asked her if I could help her with loading them into her car. She was a little unsure at first but then was really grateful for the help.

It’s a tiny thing. But I felt good, in a way. Sure it’s not going to change the world, but it’s better than putting more dents and dings in it.