[Image credit: renjith krishnan]

At the beginning of the month, something happened to really test my patience.  I was so upset I was seeing red and, what made it worse, was that it took place while I was at work (although not work-related).  When the phone rang and I picked it up, I strove for a pleasant tone, not knowing who was on the line.  Right away the caller, who turned out to be a close friend of mine, asked me if I was okay.  With that, the flood gates opened and I poured out my frustrations in what seemed like one exhalation of angry words.  My friend couldn’t fix it, and I knew that.  But he listened, and it felt like a figurative anchor had pulled my tumultuous emotions back to earth and grounded me.  I was still filled with tremendous angst, but it helped to be able to simply vent.  And the object of my irritation should consider herself lucky.

How do you ground yourself when you’re angry or frustrated?