When you’re angry, it can feel like those furious emotions are just boiling away inside you. It makes it hard to focus on other things, and the negative thoughts ping-ponging around inside your mind make it even hard to calm down.
No matter what you’re mad about, writing about it might be helpful. Anger journaling prompts can give you the outlet to express your emotions, process what you are feeling, and even come up with solutions to help you feel better.
Why Anger Journaling Prompts Can Be Helpful
Expressing writing can be a beneficial tool when it comes to dealing with mental health challenges. Research suggests that it can improve your coping abilities and foster better overall well-being.
Anger can leave you feeling defensive and bitter. It can also make other intense emotions rise to the surface, like feelings of sadness or vulnerability.
How we express these emotions can vary depending on many factors, including how we are socialized to handle them. Men are often socialized to express their anger physically or verbally. Women, on the other hand, are often taught to tamp it down and not let other people know just how furious they are.
That’s why journaling can be so helpful. Venting your anger through words or physical actions isn’t always the best approach. It often reinforces those emotions and makes them worse in the long term.
Evidence suggests that venting anger helps people feel better momentarily and makes them more likely to respond aggressively when they get angry in the future.
So rather than letting it out (which can damage your ability to cope and hurt your relationships) or holding it in (which results in symptoms of chronic stress), journaling can become a healthy, adaptive outlet for coping with intense feelings of anger.
Furious? Here’s 25 Anger Journaling Prompts That Can Help
- Why am I feeling angry? What triggered these feelings?
- Describe the physical reactions I am experiencing because of this anger.
- Are there things that *always* make you angry? Make a list of some of your biggest anger triggers or pet peeves.
- If I could say anything to the person making me angry, what would it be? (Write it down, but don’t send it.)
- How does it make me feeling to hold onto this anger?
- Could any other underlying emotions be contributing to my anger? (Like feelings of fear, frustration, sadness, etc.)
- How does my anger affect my relationships with other people?
- What are some different ways that I can deal with this anger?
- What are the pros and cons of each option I listed above?
- What kind of long-term consequences will I face for holding onto this anger?
- Can I learn anything from the anger I’m experiencing?
- Describe your anger. What are some other words you might use to describe what you’re feeling?
- How do I usually deal with anger? What outcomes do I typically experience?
- Are there any common patterns to my anger–is it triggered by similar situations or events?
- What type of anger am I experiencing? Is it rooted in feelings like being destructive, judgmental, bitter, overwhelmed, or hurt?
- How can I use this anger as motivation to make a positive change?
- What affirmations can I use to help me deal with this anger?
- What other coping strategies could I use to manage what I am feeling?
- What role might forgiveness, whether for myself or others, play in controlling or letting go of my anger?
- Does how I speak to myself when I’m angry differ from how I respond to others I’m angry with?
- What are some things I can do right now to help myself feel better?
- Think about a time when someone else was angry at you. What caused the situation, and how did it make you feel? How did you deal with the situation?
- Do you ever feel like you have to hide your anger from others? How does this make you feel?
- What are some boundaries I can set to protect myself from situations or people that make me angry?
- Imagine that someone you love is angry. What advice would you give them to help them deal with it? Then, ask yourself if you are willing to take your own advice.
Sources:
Bresin, K., & Gordon, K. H. (2013). Aggression as affect regulation: Extending catharsis theory to evaluate aggression and experiential anger in the laboratory and daily life. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 32(4), 400–423. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2013.32.4.400
Tonarelli, A., Cosentino, C., Artioli, D., Borciani, S., Camurri, E., Colombo, B., D’Errico, A., Lelli, L., Lodini, L., & Artioli, G. (2017). Expressive writing. A tool to help health workers. Research project on the benefits of expressive writing. Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis, 88(5S), 13–21. https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v88i5-S.6877