Inafishbowl

I got the book "Living Sober" at my first meeting and just started to read it today. It talks about how dangerous anger is and then goes on to describe the different forms that anger shows itself. Here's my checklist.

Intolerance.... I'm intolerant of intolerant people. Check.
Contempt....check
envy notsomuch
hatred notsomuch
snobbishness. check and double check
rigidity. Check.
synicism. Triple check.
tension. check.
sarcasm. checkity check check check.
self pity. (especially now) check!
malice. notsomuch.
distrust. check.
anxiety. check.
suspicion. check.
Jealousy. Isn't that envy? Notsomuch. Although I am quite jealous of all of these happy recovering or recovered alcoholics these days. So I guess check to that too.

there ya have it.

Mark75

All those happy recovered(ing) alcoholics were at one time exactly where you are now, at the beginning...

Living sober has a lot of good suggestions for those in early sobriety, glad you are reading it... I always found, though, that the Big Book lifted my spirits and helped dissolve anger, and all that other useless crap...

Inafishbowl

Mark, Thanks. I'm reading the big book over again right now. Reading the 12 and 12 for the second time too. Reading "Drinking A Love Story" and just finished "Dry". When I'm not reading books I'm either here, at a meeting or at a Yoga class.

I'm freaking saturating myself right now. I've accepted that I'm an alcoholic. But I'm still pissy about it.

LaFemme

Saturation is good

My coach tells me there is no room for fear in a grateful heart nor anger in a loving heart. I always had the love thing down but I'm working on the gratitude one now

After love gratitude is probably the most healing emotion to embrace. Its why I visit the gratitude section even when I didn't havevtime for SR.

Xoxo, LaFemme

LaFemme

P.s....I thought your thread was actually going to be about the shapes and colors of anger...for instance...perhaps who were feeling like a flame colored octagon.

coffeenut

I think that's one of the biggest thing I've noticed....I'm not angry anymore. Yeah, occasionally I'll have a snit, but my life is just so much calmer lately. Nice.

Thanks for the thread!

ReadyAndAble

LOL—I would have checked and not-checked almost exactly the same boxes! Except I'm not feeling much self pity now... I'm trying to be less judgmental, which I think is at the root of most of the other ones you checked. I catch myself sometimes, and think, "Dude, you just drank your way through the past several years. You're in no position to talk smack about someone else."

LaFemme, put me down for a rectangle. Sky blue, please.

artsoul

Well at least we're human....!
that one had me laughing!

I have to remind myself: it's it not love, it's ego....... which is rooted in fear. I feel like I've spent more than half of my life afraid on one thing or another. While drinking, I didn't think about any of these kinds of things (like anger) - being sober I feel like at least I'm growing again.

MIBluebird

That was so enlightening to me....I've always said that I don't know how to be angry but according to that checklist, I'm one VERY angry person. I avoid confrontation at all costs but I'm definitely dealing with almost everything on that list. Thanks for sharing....

gabagool

To Me, it all depends on what you DO with the anger. Anger is a POWERFUL tool, one that can be used accomplish things. But,if it simply sits and simmers, it becomes a poison, and the person its poisoning is you. And you know what? Booze makes me lazy. That means I don't feel like doing anything. That means, whatever anger I have, INSTEAD of using it for motivation to BETTER your self, you waste it. Booze and anger is a crappy combo.