Many people this week in the United States and abroad have found themselves with a mixture of feelings about the outcome of the election here. People have voiced feelings of anger, sadness, frustration, dismay and even despair regarding the outcome. Some people have found themselves in grief over the loss of what could have been had the outcome been different.

What are these feelings telling us? If your primary feeling is one of anger, what is that anger telling you? Anger is a normal, human emotion that sometimes can be a protector of deeper, more tender feelings. Anger can be a signal that our deeper, more tender feelings need attention.

Anger, to some extent, is there to protect us. Much like a suit of armor, anger protects us from feeling those deeper feelings that, for many people, can be very uncomfortable. It is important to acknowledge our anger while also giving ourselves permission to explore what might be beneath that anger. Doing so can be empowering, and discharging it in healthy ways can also feel empowering.

Anger can also signal us that we may need to take healthy, appropriate action to protect our values. Many people may be feeling that with the outcome of Tuesday’s election, their values of kindness, compassion, grace, inclusivity, and tolerance are under assault. What might that mean for you in terms of taking action to protect your values? Could that mean that you consider volunteering your time, energy, effort, or money to causes you consider important? Could that mean writing letters to those in power to express your views and concerns? Could that mean taking time away from or limiting your social media consumption? Could that mean setting and enforcing boundaries with people?

Anger can be used to propel us toward hope. Hope is the antidote to despair as it can move us toward taking healthy, appropriate action to walk and talk our values. Hope can propel us toward taking the next, right step toward protecting our values.

Times are tough right now for many people. Many people have been left in a whirlwind of emotion stemming from Tuesday’s election. We may be feeling all the feelings, including anger. Think about what your anger is telling you and harness it. We can choose to use that anger to hurt others by lashing out in word or deed, or we can choose to use that anger to help ourselves AND others. We may be dismayed at the outcome of this election, but if we can choose to harness our hurt and anger for good and redirect it toward helpful, hopeful action, we can be the victors.

~ Karri Christiansen, MSW, LSW, CADC, CCTP