An Anger Drawing Exercise

Expression anger appropriately is imperitive. Some people get stuck with anger they have not expressed and fall prey to inappropriate outbursts, rages, or depression. Anger will be expressed one way or another. You can help control how it is expressed by making an effort to express it creatively.

Materials: Paper, markers

Process: Draw a picture that represents how you the anger. It could be a realistic representation of the situation or person that is causing the anger. It can be an abstract representation of the anger such as a monster. There is no right or wrong way to picturally represent your anger. You may find yourself just scribbling furiously. That's fine. However you need to express the anger on paper is fine.

When the drawing is finished, take a few minutes to look at it. Ask yourself some questions related to the drawing. If the cause of the anger needs to be addressed, plan how you can do that. Do you need to communicate with someone in order to let go of the anger? Sometimes, we are angry with situations in the past that cannot be remedied. In those cases, it's still important to express the anger. Then, work on letting it go, and that's the next step of this exercise.

Rip up the drawing. You are taking control of this anger. It can no longer control you. Rip it up and throw it away.