For Today: March 30th

For Today: March 30^th

Anger is a short madness

Horace

I have to be careful about my attitude toward anger. I know that it is healthy to “own” my feelings---to admit to myself that I’m angry as a first step in dealing with that powerful and destructive emotion.  It takes time to find balance, however, and sometimes I swing wildly between extremes. When I explode at someone, I feel out of control, but the program gives me a path to follow: I can make amends. When I lack the courage to express my anger, I can write about it or talk it over with someone, and then forgive myself.

The amazing thing is that, as I grow in this program, I find less and less to be angry about.

For Today: Sanity is not how well I can hide my anger; it is having no need to react to people, places and things by becoming angry.

Anger is a big trigger for me…..as  soon as I feel that emotion welling up, I also feel like overeating.

There was a time I thought  I had no choice BUT to be angry all the time…..that life was unfair.  Well, maybe life IS unfair, but that doesn’t ‘entitle’ me to be angry.  Anger entitles me to be fat & miserable. What I AM entitled to is living my life as God would like me to; happy, joyous & free. Anger only interferes with that plan.

How does a person rid himself of anger so he CAN live happy, joyous & free?

For me, after working a 4^th step & identifying all my character defects that LEAD me to feeling angry, I can ask God to remove them. Then, as soon as I start feeling angry, I can identify what’s driving me to feel that way & say it out loud.  Then I can speak my mind to the person who angered me, in a kind & loving way, and get it OUT onto the table. Once I do that, I can get RID of the anger, move past it and go on with my day. I don’t ‘have to’ eat over it, internalize it, blame someone else or allow all that anger to build up inside ME and cause ME misery.

Sometimes, I get angry in a justifiable way, not because of a character defect of my own. I realize that anger is still a toxic emotion, though, and whether it's justifiable or not, it can STILL lead me to overeat if I don't get rid of it.

For today, I pray for the ability to recognize my emotions & deal with them accordingly, withOUT resorting to excess food to stuff them back.

For today, I am grateful for the knowledge that I have no need to react to people, places and things by becoming angry.

For today, I am grateful for the serenity that comes about by working the steps & staying abstinent. I am grateful that anger doesn’t drive my whole LIFE anymore.