Disarming Anger

When you have PTSD, you have an invisible wound that is not easily healed. You may feel as if you have been damaged beyond repair, and you may harbor great anger towards the person, thing, or circumstance that caused your PTSD.

I believe there is no greater healing force in the universe than that of forgiveness. I grew up in a harsh environment. I was the victim of the actions of others that shaped my life and left me with PTSD. I was very angry at the people who inflicted that pain, but what I have learned from those experiences is that anger is a double-edged sword. Yes, it cuts the person it’s directed toward, but it cuts the person who holds that anger as well. Without forgiveness, anger becomes a black cancer allowing its pain to continue eating away at us, day after day.

When you remain angry at the person that hurt you, it gives the pain they caused you the power to continue hurting you. By hanging on to that anger, you allow it to rob you of today as well as yesterday, and if you don’t put forgiveness into practice, it will continue to rob you of your tomorrows as well. In other words, it is your choice whether you continue to let the anger you have towards the person who hurt you continue to hurt you. You end up sacrificing the happiness of today to that anger, focusing on how you were hurt in the past instead of experiencing the joy of the moment you are in now!

We can carry that anger with us everywhere, every day. We have the choice of disarming the power it has over us and leaving it behind, but many times we choose to hold on to the anger and let it continue gnawing at us. When you forgive the person who wronged you, you acknowledge that whatever the reason for their actions, you won’t continue to allow them to hurt you. You destroy their power and leave the pain in the past. In the simple act of forgiveness, you release your pain. It no longer has the power to continue hurting you. In time, you may even come to the point where you recognize the weakness of the person who hurt you in the first place, but it is your choice whether you let their actions continue to poison you.

Disarm your anger; remove the stinger from the pain of the past…forgive. It really is the wisest choice.