ways to safely release from a rage

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I have had a very frustrating 2 hours on the phone dealing with vocal phone menus, and at one point I got stuck in a loop. Long story short, I built myself into a rage, and I need to figure out a way to release this energy.

I keep a baseball bat in the car for situations like this. Not to use on people, or peoples belongings, but instead to go beat up a tree in the middle of the forest where nobody can hear me. I have really, really, really bad balance and it is to windy for me to go outside today.

Any suggestions on ways to release?

Blood curdling screams work for me even in public. I would never hurt a tree or an animal. I also punch my bed and pillows

There is a potential danger in a physical outlet because it can be a smaller step to applying the physical act to people or property.

Sometimes going for a walk and allowing the level of emotional "steam" to drop can be useful.

Also, one can take from the experience a lesson for the future not to expect things to go well. This sort of preparation can help to reduce the frustration when expectations are, especially suddenly, shattered.

Anger is often a result of unanticipated reality intruding on unrealistic expectations.

While in the Navy, one of the ships I served on had what came to be known as the "Scream Locker" -- a compartment filled with old furniture and other junk. Sailors who could not control their tempers were encouraged to go into that compartment, close the door behind them, and scream and shout while smashing the junk into smaller pieces. No one ever faced discipline for this, and it was a great cathartic for rage and frustration.

When humans encounter a threat, we have a natural desire to run away or fight or scream for help or project our voice to drive fear into the heart of the enemy. This is an automatic response in the middle layer of the brain. Our middle layer automatically prepares for the encounter by releasing a flood of chemicals into our system. But when our outer layer (the social brain) constraints our actions because of social norms, our body suffers a major conflict between the middle and outer layer. The unused stress energy is stored within our body in our 5 limbs (legs, arms and neck). Long-term containment of this energy will damage our body both physically and mentally. Therefore this stress energy must be purged, but it must be purged in a socially acceptable manner.

In your case which limb is involved, which one is storing this energy? My guess is that it is your neck. You probably feel like screaming. Your body is probably telling you to scream.

The neck is a fifth limb. Many animals have two arms and two legs and one other extremity, their neck. They use their neck, vocal cord, jaw and teeth both offensively and defensively. Lions roar, bears growl, dogs bark and wolves snarl. The sound produces fears that can immobilize their prey. Herd animals will use vocalization to alert the herd of the predator’s presence. Many times it is the jaws of a predator that will rip their prey apart.

When an infant is in distress, the child will cry and scream. Individuals have been taught to constrain and control this action because this behavior is very disruptive. About the time a child sets off to school he begins to be ridiculed for crying – they are called “crybabies”. But by inhibiting this natural reaction, the stress energy is not vented but rather stored. And this stored energy needs to be vented and released in order to avoid distress. So the main question is “How does one scream in a socially acceptable manner as an adolescent or adult?

One needs to vent the stored stress energy in their neck muscles, vocal cords, and jaw. The best way is to scream at the top of your lungs several times. But this must be done in a socially acceptable manner. Never scream at a person. I live in the rural countryside and my dog is a free-range dog. When it is mealtime and my dog is up and about; I call my dog very loudly.

R-o-c-k-y. Come here puppy. R-o-c-k-y.
R-o-c-k-y. Where are you puppy? R-o-c-k-y.
R-o-c-k-y. Come here puppy.

I yell so loud that I can hear my voice being echoed back to me from nearby hills and mountains. My voice carries about a mile. The call is so strong that it borders on a roar. It is a very good feeling. It gives me a sense of great strength, like I could split a mountain in two just with my voice alone. I feel strong to my core. It is a great stress reliever or normalizer. And it is socially acceptable in the countryside.

One might try howling like a wolf at the moon. There is an individual in New York City that howls at the subway cars as they pass by deep down in the subway stations. But there are other ways to scream in a socially acceptable manner. A singer can do this if it is a very powerful song. A barker in the county fair can do this. A fan at a rock concert can sing along at the top of their lungs. Some commuters sing along to the tune on the radio at the top of their lungs while they are driving down the road. A spectator at a sports event can do this in cheering on their team. Even a Girl Scout can practice barking in front of the local grocery store when she sells Girl Scout cookies. Or find yourself a soundproof room.

Golden Rule: Never scream AT someone. Because this would be interpreted as an attack, a verbal assault.