Releasing Rage Safely at Work

Is anyone else feeling intense rage these days? I don’t know if it’s the anti-LGBTQIA+ political climate, the season I am in my personal life right now, the Georgia humidity, or a combination of all three, but I feel rage bubbling up on a daily basis. I find myself screaming at NPR and flipping off Trump 2024 flags. I’ve taken to punching my pillow and solo moshing to rageful music as I clean (Free Drink Ticket, Peaches is my go-to song).?

Rage is an intense emotion. It’s red hot and explosive. If expressed in uncontrolled ways it can leave a path of destruction, destroying relationships and reputations. People lose jobs and destroy careers because of mis-expression of rage at work.?

There is no shame in rage. It’s a very human emotion. Rage is usually a sign of stuck and unexpressed emotion and is one of those top of the Lego structure emotions, meaning it is a result of other emotions building up inside of you.

Rage at work can be a result of challenging relationships, toxic work environments, burnout, fear of being fired or laid off, being continuously denied a voice, and many more situations. Workplace rage can also be transference from something going on in your personal life.?

Releasing Rage

Rage is energy. Energy has to go somewhere. If you don’t get it out, it is going to come out in a way that you will regret or it will stay bouncing around inside of you, causing damage to your mental and physical well-being.?

Exploding at your co-worker or writing and sending a nasty Slack message might make you feel better in the moment but, in most cases, will lead to more problems down the road.?

Instead, take some time out to release rage in a way that will ultimately leave you feeling better off.?

1. WRITE IT ALL DOWN

“I am angry that I can’t……” “I am angry because….” Write until you can’t think of one more thing to write. Dig deep and get petty. Write about how your boss never gets your pronouns right. Write about how you are angry that in the third grade you didn’t win the coloring contest. Write about how you are angry because Taco Tuesday doesn’t have a veggie option.

Write until you feel the urge to start writing what you are sad, afraid of, hurt by, etc. That will be the emotions underneath the rage coming out, which means the rageful energy is releasing. I did this today and I was feeling a lot less rageful within 15 minutes.

2. SOMATIC SHAKING

This one I pulled verbatim from Chopra.com.

“Anger is often a result of stagnant emotion and stuck trauma in our bodies. Somatic exercises are a powerful way to clear and release what is stored in the body to feel lighter and more at ease. Somatic shaking is a fun and effective way to clear and let go of this stagnant energy.

Begin by playing music that inspires you to move. Start with your feet, hips, width, and arms at your side, palms facing forward. Begin to settle into the body as you start to bounce your legs. Then begin to shake the hands, then the arms. Start slow, and increase the shaking as you get more comfortable, eventually shaking all of your limbs and moving your entire body. Close your eyes and allow yourself to shake, move, and dance in any way that feels organic for you, breathing through any emotion that comes up. Continue this process for five to twelve minutes. Take time to slow down your movements intentionally and stand in mountain pose, breathing deeply to finish the practice. Rest afterward if you need to, integrating consciously back into your day.”

3. DOODLE

Next time you are feeling rageful in a meeting, doodle your feelings on a piece of paper. Create symbols for what you want to express. Creative expression gives the rageful energy a place to go outside of your body and not directed onto another person.

About the author: Kirsten Bunch is a writer, speaker and certified leadership coach who helps LGBTQ+ professionals get promoted to leadership positions without sacrificing their queer identities.