Alchemizing anger: from harming to helping

Hi,

I’ve got a confession. As someone who’s dedicated over a decade of their life to understanding the somatic and medical effects of emotions, it’s a vulnerable confession to share. But I’m also in a life-long practice of presence, which means being appropriately vulnerable and unmasked. So I’ll admit it…

I’ve been repressing anger for most of my life.

You see, for most of my life I thought there were just two things I could do with anger: express it, or repress it. Expressing it felt outwardly violent to my people-pleasing part so, I chose the latter. Over time, that only went so far before I recognized the internal harm that repressed anger causes. But thanks to the brilliance of Taoism, Chinese medicine and my own mentors + therapists, I’m happy to report there’s a third option that’s actually quite a hopeful use of anger’s energy. Let’s find our way there together.

Chinese medicine associates the energy of anger with the wood element: the liver, gallbladder and sinews. Physiologically, this means that anger fires up circulation and tightens tendons, ligaments and fascia. Mentally? It induces irrationality.

Most of us know the more obvious form of anger: someone who expresses irrationality as knee-jerk reaction to anger. This looks like a person that is red in the face, becoming loud and belligerent, or getting externally violent. There is epidemiological evidence that links the continued expression of irrational anger to coronary artery disease and coronary heart disease.1 And anyone who has felt this knows it can turn into a scary experience for all involved.

Then there’s those that repress anger; the less obvious dynamic of internalizing irrationality. This is more prevalant in East Asian cultures that emphasize harmony in collective living. There’s even a name for it. Hwabyung is a culture-related anger syndrome in Korea known to occur due to the continued repression of anger. A study from Korea2 synthesizes that Hwabyung patients go through four phases:

1. Anger arousal - getting triggered, typically due to interpersonal or family conflicts and other social issues

2. Blame - inappropriate regulation strategies, such as suppression and rumination; suppression cannot decrease anger, and rumination worsens anger.

3. Uncontrollable physical and emotional symptoms - becoming more sensitive to external stimuli

4. Compromise and temporary coping - trying various coping strategies to relieve distress in a difficult situation where one has to choose between their own safety and values

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The experience of the Hwabyung patient - of chronically repressed, irrational anger - is one in which harm becomes directed towards the self both emotionally and physically.

On one side, repressing irrational anger leads to uncontrollable symptoms and compromised safety or values. On the other, expressing irrational anger has clear links to heart disease. So what’s this third way of moving with anger? It’s what I consider the energetic alchemy of anger, and it’s hiding in plain sight:

The energy of anger triggering irrationality is asking you to break beyond your habitual logic, reason, justification, or… rationale. Irrationality is prompting you to set down the presumptions of your mind and step into 魂 the hún: your ethereal soul.

• 魂 The hún is responsible for your dreams, vision and soul’s direction in life- things that don’t ‘make sense’ and are not habitual (yet).

• 魂 The hún is the aspect of spirit associated with the wood element… and anger.

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Now it’s not always easy to create those moments of pause between a strong emotion like anger arising, the irrationality that ensues, and then a habitual reaction of harmful expression or repression. It’s not always easy to embrace the irrational and disrupt your habits. But there are practical tools we have to cultivate those moments of intentional pause: therapy, meditation, acupuncture, qigong…

When you put these tools into practice, and ground your practice in the body with supportive companions and guides, you’ll feel the benefits and beauty of anger as a lived experience of dreams realizing. Dreams you probably didn’t know you had. With practice and support, you can break the rationale that’s not working for you and then…

Anger can help you dream bigger and better.

Anger is a strong energy. It’s meant to help you do great things. May your anger be felt, embraced, and alchemized for your most irrational dreams. Our world could use it right about now.

With care,

Kevin

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