Anger. Just reading the word might stir something in you—tightness in the chest, heat behind the eyes, a clench in your jaw.
In Western culture, anger is often portrayed as dangerous, destructive, immature, or even shameful. Many of us were taught that to be angry is to be out of control, unreasonable, or—perhaps worst of all—unlovable.
But what if that’s not the full truth? What if anger, rather than being a flaw to fix, is actually a force for healing?
At our Nashville therapy collective, we are bridging the evidence-based wisdom of Western psychology with the soul-deep insights of Eastern mysticism. One of our foundational practices is Anger Release Therapy—a process of reclaiming, expressing, and integrating the power of anger in order to return to wholeness.
“Experiencing anger doesn’t mean we are weak, it means we are real.”
Let that sink in.
Anger is not the opposite of peace. It is the messenger that shows us where peace has been violated.
Western psychology has long categorized anger as a “negative emotion.” While modern clinicians increasingly acknowledge the role of all emotions in mental health, many people still carry the deep-seated belief that anger is something to suppress, manage, or avoid.
We internalize messages like:
- “Don’t be dramatic.”
- “You’re too sensitive.”
- “Be the bigger person.”
Over time, we learn to silence our anger—to exile it from our inner emotional landscape. But the truth is, anger is one of the most biologically adaptive and psychologically important emotions we possess. It tells us when something’s wrong, when a boundary has been crossed, or when our values have been betrayed.
From an Eastern perspective, this repression leads to energetic blockages. In traditions like Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), anger is associated with the liver and the free flow of qi (life force energy). Unexpressed anger can lead to stagnation—both emotionally and physically—which can manifest as resentment, fatigue, depression, and even chronic illness (Kaptchuk, 2000).
In Buddhism and Vedantic teachings, emotions are not enemies to be conquered—they are gateways to self-realization. Anger, when met with awareness, becomes a teacher.
Anger Release Therapy (ART) is a therapeutic process that invites clients to safely, consciously, and somatically express anger that has been repressed, denied, or misunderstood.
Unlike traditional “talk therapy,” ART involves movement, sound, breath, and sensation. It is rooted in somatic psychology and influenced by therapeutic modalities like Gestalt Therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Bioenergetics (Lowen, 1975), while also honoring Eastern practices like breathwork, chakra clearing, and sacred ritual.
It’s not about lashing out. It’s about letting go.
Key Components of Anger Release Therapy:
- Somatic Activation
Clients are guided to locate anger in the body—often the chest, jaw, fists, or solar plexus. Movement, shaking, hitting pillows, or stomping can help unlock the energy. - Breath and Sound
Deep, rhythmic breathing coupled with primal sounds—grunts, screams, moans—allows emotion to surface and move through. - Sacred Space
Anger is honored, not feared. The space is held with compassion, reverence, and intention. - Integration and Reflection
After release, clients are invited to reflect: What was this anger protecting? What truth did it reveal? What boundary does it demand I uphold? - Energetic Recalibration
Eastern practices such as chakra balancing, guided visualization, and mantra are used to soothe the nervous system and bring the body back into energetic alignment.
From a Western clinical standpoint, Anger Release Therapy draws upon well-researched understandings of trauma, somatic memory, and emotional regulation.
1. The Role of the Body in Emotional Storage
Trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk (2014) famously wrote that “the body keeps the score.” When emotions are not expressed—especially in childhood—they are stored in the body. Muscles tighten, posture shifts, breath shortens. Over time, this creates a chronic state of hypervigilance, tension, and disconnection.
Anger, in particular, is often a cover emotion—masking deeper feelings of abandonment, betrayal, or fear. Through controlled release, clients gain access to the grief and tenderness beneath the rage, which can then be processed more authentically.
2. Attachment Wounds and the Need for Expression
Insecure or disorganized attachment patterns often stem from inconsistent caregiver responses to anger. Children who are punished or rejected for expressing anger learn to suppress it. Anger Release Therapy can serve as corrective emotional experience, allowing clients to express anger in a context where they are not shamed or rejected, but witnessed and affirmed.
3. The Ego’s Fear of Disruption
In Jungian psychology, the ego seeks to maintain the status quo—often at the expense of the true self. Anger threatens this safety. It wants change. It demands truth. It disrupts. And that is its power.
In nearly every spiritual tradition, fire is both feared and revered.
- In Hinduism, Agni is the god of fire and transformation.
- In Christianity, fire symbolizes both the Holy Spirit and the refiner’s flame.
- In Taoism, fire is one of the five elements—representing passion, transformation and identity.
In our collective’s sacred work, anger is fire. Not a fire to be extinguished, but one to be tended.
Anger, when expressed consciously, burns away illusions—false identities, unhealthy patterns, outdated roles. It clears the space for authenticity.
This aligns with the Eastern teaching that suffering often comes not from the emotion itself, but from our resistance to it. When we meet anger with openness, we allow it to serve its sacred function: to point us back to alignment.
We live in a world of chronic boundary violations—systemic injustice, spiritual bypassing, performative positivity, and cultural gaslighting. Many people—especially those from marginalized communities—have been taught to “keep it together,” to “stay polite,” to not rock the boat.
But the boat needs rocking.
Anger is not a problem to solve. It is a signal to listen to.
- It says: No more.
- It says: I matter.
- It says: Something sacred has been crossed.
When we deny this voice, we deny a piece of our soul.
Traditional talk therapy, while powerful, often stays in the realm of narrative and cognition. But trauma lives in the body.
Somatic release activates the autonomic nervous system, engaging the fight-or-flight response in a safe, contained way so that the body can complete the stress cycle and return to a state of regulation (Porges, 2011).
It’s not enough to talk about anger. We must let it move through us.
At our therapy collective, we believe that the future of healing lies in integration—where evidence-based tools meet ancient wisdom, and clinical science dances with spirit.
In our Anger Release sessions, you’ll find:
- Psychological safety rooted in trauma-informed care
- Energetic safety rooted in ritual, intention, and grounding
- Somatic tools such as breathwork, sound, and movement
- Spiritual therapies such as guided visualization, energy work, and sacred witness
We don’t see anger as a problem to solve. We see it as medicine to take.
Let’s rewrite the narrative.
Anger isn’t a sin. It’s not a weakness. It’s not a flaw.
It is a protective instinct, a sacred compass, a flame in the dark.
Anger says:
“I have been betrayed.”
“I am not being seen.”
“I need to be heard.”
“My truth matters.”
To listen to your anger is to honor your life force.
To express your anger is to reclaim your voice.
To integrate your anger is to become whole again.
If you’ve ever felt like anger made you “too much,” “ungrateful,” “dramatic,” or “unspiritual,” this is your invitation to rewrite that story.
You don’t have to perform peace anymore.
You can be real.
You can be messy.
You can be whole.
And remember:
“Experiencing anger doesn’t mean we are weak, it means we are real.”
References
Kaptchuk, T. J. (2000). The web that has no weaver: Understanding Chinese medicine. McGraw-Hill.
Lowen, A. (1975). Bioenergetics: The revolutionary therapy that uses the language of the body to heal the problems of the mind. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W.W. Norton & Company.
Van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.
Article’s Author:
Vic Sorrell, LMSW, is a Space Holder, Psychotherapist, and Anger Release Specialist devoted to authenticity, emotional sovereignty, radical self-acceptance, and the reclamation of wholeness.
He works with individuals, couples, and groups as a founding collective member at Haus of Sovereign. His therapeutic guidance is grounded in presence and ritual, devoted to helping clients reclaim their inner authority by moving through suppressed anger, grief, and shame.
Our work is a sacred fit if…You sense there’s truth beneath your anger, wisdom in your body and an authentic self you’ve silenced for too long.
Contact me: vic@haus-sovereign.com
Connect on Instagram: @vicsorrell
