How to channel negative energy?

[zeke365]

I want to know what is the best way to channel negative energy like complaining, anger, frustrations, depression etc. to something postive or somehow release it rather complaining my problem on to others. 

I have done faith based stuff, have mediation, exercise, gym but none seems to be the answer. So I would like some of your suggestions.

[BooksandTrees]

When I have negative energy I do a few things.  I note down what is causing the negative energy and discuss it with my therapist.  I try to understand what might be the root of my frustration.  I go to the gym or do yoga because the quick transitions help me forget about what is on my mind and I can release that way.  I also grab a few friends and turn my complaints into a pseudo-standup comedy routine.  I just try to make light of a situation through aggressive comedy to put myself in a better mood.  I will go for a drive and turn the music up loud and sing very loud with it, while slamming my head around to go nuts. 

[sinirad]

Hey man,

I've been doing something that has worked wonders for me, and really changed the way I channel my energy and even build up negativity in general, which is something that happens less and less now as I find myself feeling less frustrated, angry, anxious, and depressed. It might work for you, it might not, but I see no harm in trying so why not give it a shot?

What I'm talking about is:

Writing.

You might be wondering "that's it? Cam already told us to start a journal!" While I believe 100% in starting a journal on this forum, I also do some writing on the side which is just for me, and no one else. I think it's important to have a space for yourself where you can write, rant, vent, and reflect, without thinking about who's going to read this? Unlike the posts I make on this forum, when I'm writing for myself, I write by hand with a pen and paper and I let the thoughts flow from my mind to the blank page. Now there are a few writing activities that I recommend:

1) Write a freeflow journal - Anytime you're upset, or after you're upset, or you've come home from a bad day. Grab a pen and paper and write exactly how you feel. Sometimes I write the exact thoughts going through my mind like "WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING!?" Sometimes I scribble in frustration, or draw little angry faces or what I think of some less than polite people. One important thing when you do this, is don't stop to think about "what" you should write, just write. Sometimes I'm thinking to myself "I really don't know how I should feel about that situation, or what to think about it but..." let yourself get into a flow, let those emotions move from your mind, to your, hand, to the blank canvas that is your page. Another rule that I have, is that you are never EVER are allowed to erase, or go back and cross something out. Why? I think this is an important part of the reflection process, sometimes I feel really bad that I thought someone was a bitch, or a jerk, and looking back at that moment a couple of days later, when I look at the page, I can see, sense, feel the anger coming out of the page, and I ask myself, why was I so angry in the first place? Sometimes I regret something I said, thought, or wrote, and I connect to my writing a couple of days later, and then I write about that, what was really going on? What was it that really upset me? From there, I could go into a whole other post about what we should do afterwards, but I think the important thing to truly understand our feelings, our energy, and where they all come from, is to transfer them outside of our body and into something physical, and for me, I can accomplish that with writing. 

Like I said, don't think about "what" or "how" you should write, just write! Sometimes when we confine ourselves to writing for an audience, we don't tap into how we really feel. Furthermore, when we sit down and say "I'm going to write a journal" sometimes that confines how we expect to interact with the page. But if you allow yourself to just feel and write, if you feel like spelling something incorrectly, if you feel like referring to yourself in the third person, if you feel like writing as if you're talking to the person, event, or object; just write! 

My second writing activity is something I've recently started doing and it to, has given me clarity and control over my emotions:

2) Personify ideas, emotions, events, or people into characters in a story.

Again, this isn't for anyone else, it's just for you. I think to truly understand our feelings, we have to be able to look at them externally in some way. One way that I've been able to do that is by personifying different things and putting them into a fictional story. It doesn't matter if your story makes sense, is interesting, or if it's grammatically correct. Maybe someone said something that really ticked you off. Maybe that comment ticked you off because it represents a kind of stereotype that you're sick of hearing. Well what if that stereotype were represented by a dark wizard who slowly gains control by spreading his hatred through dark magic. How would a hero defeat this dark wizard? What if that nasty comment were personified as a vase? What would it look like? What would people say when they saw it?

There is no wrong way to do this activity, forget what you learned in English class about stories that have to have a beginning, a middle, or an ending. It doesn't matter if no one else can see the connection between the thing that made you angry and what you described it as in your story. Don't even think about whether or not your writing is good or bad, just write!

And again, see how you feel days after writing. Do you still feel the same a week later? A month? A year? Sometimes, having the ability look back and connect with how I felt in that moment really allows me to understand myself and what I was feeling. With that insight, I find I'm no able to identify the feelings and the energy around me in a way that I no longer feel like negativity is able to take control.

Speaking of writing, I didn't mean to write a novel of a post!

Hope this helps

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