i have lots of rage. sometimes for seemingly no reason at all.

*hugs* and peace to you. take good care. i hope you feel better soon.

This seems to be a common part of PTSD and depression. I hate feeling like that too because it robs me of today. Sometimes it helps me to use containment if those feeling descend and I have a special day planned, as you do with your son. I imagine pouring all that anger and junk into a beautiful container -- perhaps a hand decorated glass jar or wooden box. Then I see myself place the top on tightly and I tell myself I will take these feelings out later and deal with them but for now I want to be fully present to enjoy this special day.

Hope this helps.

I get a lot of rage, and if I dont release it, it robs me of everything. So I invested in a 100lb punching bag. Now I can hit and kick that bag to release my anger, and the physical excercise of it is really beneficial! All the best to you!

I used to be full of rage and anything small would tip me off. I began studying everything i could about anger and started doing breathing exercises and meditating, tai chi and so on. I know it sounds silly to some but it really works.

I don't know if my anger is for no apparent reason, but I get pissed every so often, like this past week about what happen to me. It just seems to be an emotion I need to process so I can accept anger for what it is and keep moving forward. So many people think anger is taboo, or you shoudn't have it. Life can make you angry at times. Most of us didn't get to express much of it, so I think it just builds up and you have to have a release now and then. I usually try and do something physical, journal, just get up and move around, talk to my therapist and anyone who will listen, which is few. It then dies back down and I feel more balanced. I hope I made some sense. Hang in there and try to enjoy your son. I don't know how old he is but the park is always fun, go climbing and swinging. It's a chance to release some pent up energy.

I do get those feelings but If I look closely I can usually find a script r some words with them somewhere ...not that the words always make sense but the feelings...I just do things to get the anger out on a physical level.

I have a lot of rage, too, and sometimes it's closer to the surface than other times. This is really normal for people with PTSD.

I'm staying away from my family until mu anger becomes manageable again. It sits heavy in my stomach. I know that it will lessen as I start to work through stuff in counselling. I don't think I'm doomed to carry this rage for the rest of my life.

Oh, I raged SO badly that I had to go to the urgent psychiatric care hospital to keep myself from hurting some"one" instead of some"thing."

The other day, I talked to a former firefighter/policeman who had PTSD. He said he used a punching bag.

I do notice that when the rage is acted on... It really does seem to reduce the chemicals. It's like choosing "fight" is more effective than "flight" for bringing those down. So, it's kind of scary that, if I release it, I am reinforced to do it again.

I don't have a good solution yet. Before I was sick, I found that the only effective thing was to "destroy" something, so I would get a glass from the trash/recycling and smash it on the patio or sidewalk. Then I would just sweep it up. That helped then unlike the idea of punching a pillow. I have never punched a gigantic bag and I haven't broken any glassware since I got sick. I did do something bad and I did feel better for days. I have released by yelling at people at that was effective too.

I wish I had an "answer." At this point, I'm still working on it. I do think I have come to the realization that if someone tries to dump on me, I'm just gonna unload and they can taste their own medicine. I don't want to "protect" jerks anymore. Of course, I'm a big wanting to help person, so I will still walk away when accidentally triggered and I don't want to yell at random people and I *especially* don't want to yell at the people I care about.

Hmm... Maybe the solution is beating the bag to a pulp *while* screaming at it?

Are you in therapy? Cognitive Process Therapy has worked wonders for me in being able to process the anger I had buried. What happens to me, though, is that anger causes me to shut down emotionally, so rather than act out, I bury. Once I reach a point I can't even feel joy any more - it totally shuts down ALL my emotions. CPT has been a godsend in helping me figure all this out. If you do this, be prepared to write - a lot - and if your therapist suggests you write, I have found that writing it out by hand has a totally different effect than typing it on a computer and it can be more helpful with your therapist, as changes in handwriting are meaningful.

Yes I am in therapy. I have hand written all of my poems and I have notice that my handwriting changes throughout the poem. I haven't shared any of them with her but maybe I will. I have an appointment tomorrow.