Hajra’s back with the last weekend post of 2012! As always she has found a fun and interesting topic for discussion! Not surprising, though, she does a great job over here! Take it away Hajra!

There is a famous saying in my house that if the house is shiny and super clean, then Hajra must have been angry.

There have been many times when I have not been able to express my anger or my disagreement. I know there is a way of saying things politely, but there have been too many times when I have just not been able to let my anger out in a way that was nice or acceptable to me.

Anger, though a terrible thing, can be a powerful emotion. It makes you want to do things like kick the wall, throw a few punches, or randomly scatter things around you. When we are angry we are like the raging bull that runs after the red cloth. Nothing really makes sense and we can’t seem to think straight because we don’t see or think clearly when we are angry. Then all you want to do is ‘attack’.

So, besides the regular healthy ways of letting go of anger, there have been times when I am really frustrated and just haven’t been able to let go. At times like those I resort to cleaning. Yes, it may sound weird but this is what I do. When my anger is extreme or I am just irritated by the way the day went, I start cleaning. I dust furniture and give it the polish it’s needed for some time. I scrub the bathrooms until they are shining and give the kitchen a mini-makeover.

I have been told that this might not be a healthy way to deal with anger because I am not getting to the root of the problem and I know there are better ways to let go. But for me, this is the way to get over situations when I have no other way of letting it all out. When I clean, the rage or the surge of extreme emotions inside of me seem to calm down, its like a substitution for shouting back, or fighting or maybe even a streaming of the urge to punch or engage in anything physically or emotionally harmful. Maybe the cleaning gives me time and the draining of the extra negative energy that seems to result due to the anger

So, what do you do when you are extremely angry and can’t seem to find a healthy way to express it? Do you clean or do you find another way to let the raging bull out?

photo credit: polytikus