What to do?

[Ashenstar]

What does one do when one feels.... incredibly destructive?

I'm just so Vulcan I never know what to do with these emotions.

When you just don't care who or what, you just want to tear down.

I have a slight *ahem* problem of turning these destructive feelings inward and ... well.. self destructing.

There has got to be something else.

 

[Nicholas A. A. E.]

Other people! Stab them.

 

[Ashenstar]

*small grin*

Well, laughing does seem to help. Thank you

Not something I'm proud of but I am very internally violent. Urges to dig my finger nails into someones skin around their jawline and just literally start ripping their flesh off.

*sigh*

Perhaps if my emotions were not so strong I would not be bothered by them as much.

 

[preilemus]

hmm...

well what I usually do in such situations is lock myself in my room, and listen to the angriest sounding (as well as depressing) music I have for the rest of the day. I usually feel better in the morning, strangely enough.

also, punching, kicking, breaking things, using dirty words, etc. it doesnt really matter as long as you can release your energy. for instance, when i was feeling similar yesterday, I blasted some Strapping Young Lad while I cleaned my bathroom. I find it easy to put all my anger into destroying a tough spot

 

[Ashenstar]

hmm...

well what I usually do in such situations is lock myself in my room, and listen to the angriest sounding (as well as depressing) music I have for the rest of the day. I usually feel better in the morning, strangely enough.

also, punching, kicking, breaking things, using dirty words, etc. it doesnt really matter as long as you can release your energy. for instance, when i was feeling similar yesterday, I blasted some Strapping Young Lad while I cleaned my bathroom. I find it easy to put all my anger into destroying a tough spot

Hmmm. .... cleaning does help sometimes. Unfortunately I am physically tired and aggressive music will just wear me out and drain me. Well, then again, if I am just drained to exhaustion this internal nonsense may settle down and I may sleep very well tonight.

 

[Android]

I grab a couple of guns and a sledgehammer and head out to an old rock-pit where people dump all kinds of old appliances, furniture, and trash... and then I start destroying stuff.

 

[Ashenstar]

I grab a couple of guns and a sledgehammer and head out to an old rock-pit where people dump all kinds of old appliances, furniture, and trash... and then I start destroying stuff.

That sounds delightful. I live in an apartment and don't think I have the means to start destroying anything. I don't even have a place where I can just scream and throw a fit. Hmmm......

One time when I was... in this.. state of being I took a sledge hammer and busted up some of my mother's concrete patio. She was remodeling anyway.

 

[cuterebra]

It's funny, I read on some MBTI site that INTP had had the lowest mean level of coping resources; ranked 16th out of 16 types on total resources. And I thought: what the hell are coping resources?

So you aren't alone, anyway, especially on this forum. Personally, I find that staying busy lets me ignore unwanted negative emotions until they go away. Breaking stuff also helps.

That same site also said INTPs were the type most frequently referred for drug or alcohol violations in college--I wonder if that has anything to do with our shitty coping skills.

 

[Zero]

Do something that will counteract with a more beneficial chemical process. Like laughing, I cannot remember the hormone it releases, but apparently also Serotonin and Melatonin are good for you.

It starts with an E is like a whole class of hormones and it's like a natural painkiller...

(I'm thinking endorphins)

Yum

 

[Da Blob]

Anger can be a very useful resource, but it is a lot like handling gun powder. The problem is that anger seeks a target to 'vent' upon. I have found that the only way i can motivate my Self into doing some disagreeable tasks is to employ anger in some way. There is this weird relationship between creation and destruction. To create one thing almost always entails the destruction of another thing...

There is a process that is hard to describe it begins with an anger, maybe a rage - something is torn to pieces - analyzed. Then in the calm after the venting, remorse sets in and one tries to put it back together. Some my very best efforts have been completed in a spirit of sadness, after venting and destroying a concept, idea, image or dream...

 

[Kuu]

Buy a punching bag. Or improvise one.

Or throw somw pillows arround. You get to toss things but they don't break... Screaming into them is good, too.

I also like destroying large cardboard boxes... kicking, bat, sword .

 

[echoplex]

idk, drive an SUV? Destroy the earth!

But seriously, I like the punching bag idea. I also think that violent video games could help. You can destroy as much as you want without any real consequences (which can be a bitch). I actually remember how I used to like building a very complex city on Sim City and then start destroying it. You could also watch a Michael Bay movie.

 

[Zero]

idk, drive an SUV? Destroy the earth!

I need a *beeping* Hummer.

 

[Sapphire Harp]

Surely preilemus has hit on the only solution for times like these...

La...

[FLV]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K44HxkcnEMU[/FLV]
​

 

[Toad]

Start smoking. Or drinking.

 

[Annablueblue]

*hands Ashenstar a margarita*

*which is probably no help at all but substitutes as a temporary coping mechanism*

A good long walk helps too...

 

[Toad]

Apple martini's are good too

 

[Android]

Sounds more like a whiskey or moonshine mood to me.

 

[SEPKA]

I usually go to an empty room with furniture. Then laugh like a hysteria maniac, rolling, jumping, all the while messing up the furniture. It worked quite well.
10 months ago a neighboor discover me doing that, and it caused quite a fuss. I changed place almost instantly.

 

[Ombat]

I take a pillow and start running around my house screaming and hitting the pillow against everything / anything. Usually if you just take a pillow and slam it down on a bed / the wall over and over you get exhausted quickly. The exhaustion is what finally calms you down. If you're worried about noise, just scream into the pillow.

I was in such a rage once, and was so angry at myself, that I purposely slammed my leg into a metal bed frame. I'm not going to do that again.

 

[Ashenstar]

@echoplex-Yes, when I had the means to I used to play Left4 Dead and whatnot to help. Now, I have no gaming pc or an adequate console. I have a Wii and... a whole bunch of fluffy games. Oh.... well.. I do enjoy Res Evil 4. Really though. This mood calls for Dead Rising. Slaughtering zombies with all and any resources available to you.

The central theme in these replies seems to be a physical outlet. Punching something, breaking stuffs, etc etc which I find hard enough in itself. I'm not very capable of just..... letting things out. Honestly.. even if given the opportunity to just take a bat and destroy stuff... I probably wouldn't be able to. Emotions tend to just sit in me and brew. As silly as it sounds, I don't give myself permission to act out when needed, even if I said.. "Self.. go ahead" I still wouldn't be able to. Someone would probably need to come antagonize me to get me to release myself as needed.

@Sapphire Harp-Heh. I should just go around in public dancing like that. Other people's opinions be damned.

@ Sepka
Yes, I think that would help incredibly. Just... let go. ... on other things besides myself. The laughing would help but I find it rather hard to .. just laugh.

@ Ombat-Yes, I understand the slamming of your leg. I erm.. being self destructive used to punish myself for whatever reason at the time and had.. other.. personal physical harm problems.. another day another thread... maybe



.....

 

[Dormouse]

When I'm in this state I usually go running. Preferably in the rain. Then I get home, sob for a bit, shower, sip hot chocolate and hide in a nest of pillows.
And I'm generally fine the next day, though it isn't always permanent.

 

[shoeless]

i get the urge to self-destruct pretty frequently. about half the time i carry through with it.

sigh. all my problems in life seem to somehow relate back to my personality. which implies that it is an inherent thing, something in my nature, and therefore something i wouldn't be able to shake without altering my consciousness with, say, drugs. prescription or otherwise.

such is the bane of being an intp, i suppose?

anyway, the other half of the time my remedy involves tea and pokemon. i say go with that.

 

[Cogwulf]

A thing I do when I feel like that sometimes is find something like a piece of card or whatever that I can rip up, I start by ripping it in half, then ripping each piece in half, then again and again until I can't rip it up any more

 

[Ashenstar]

A thing I do when I feel like that sometimes is find something like a piece of card or whatever that I can rip up, I start by ripping it in half, then ripping each piece in half, then again and again until I can't rip it up any more

You do? O_O
I do this as well. It drives others crazy. Just take the paper and rip it in half, again and again seeing exactly how small of a piece I am able to get. Interesting. *grabs some paper*

 

[Kuu]

The central theme in these replies seems to be a physical outlet. Punching something, breaking stuffs, etc etc which I find hard enough in itself. I'm not very capable of just..... letting things out. Honestly.. even if given the opportunity to just take a bat and destroy stuff... I probably wouldn't be able to. Emotions tend to just sit in me and brew.

Well, I was describing pretty extreme solutions. I actually do that... only once a year, or so.... It is very rare to get so worked up so that I actually need to.. release.

anyway, the other half of the time my remedy involves tea and pokemon.

You monster!!!

A thing I do when I feel like that sometimes is find something like a piece of card or whatever that I can rip up, I start by ripping it in half, then ripping each piece in half, then again and again until I can't rip it up any more

Try doing that to a newspaper. The whole newspaper. You'll end up throwing it across the room in frustration.


For small amounts of release, I also enjoy slamming my hands/fists on the table. Usually happens when fixing my dad's stupid computer related issues. (Curse you, microsoft!)

This is particularly useful when in a boring meeting or stupid discussion, when you get fed up and calmly tell everybody they're all good-for-nothing fucktards that should shut the hell up and go kill themselves wrong and then you slowly walk out and everybody goes ...... priceless.


EDIT: AH I just remembered another one. Growl. Like a beast from the deepest chasms of the earth. Like if you were possesed. It is fun. It scares little children and animals sometimes. It lets your friends know "ok he REALLY needs alone time". It lets your mother know your that you are dissatisfied with what she considers to be "cleaning" your room.

 

[Deleted member 1424]

I've never really taken out my anger and frustration through the physical destruction of things. The implications behind it somewhat disturb me. If you can destroy random inanimate objects, how difficult would it be to move onto an animal or another person? Indulging desires for physical violence regardless of the target will only cause you to have that same desire, only with more frequency and intensity.

This may be twisted, but I get sort of an odd satisfaction when I can remain cool, deadpan whilst under the most stress. In general the more serious and composed I am externally, the angrier I am internally. If I have that particular 'destructive' feeling I either distract myself with something or if it is particularly intense I write. It happens rarely and it's usually incoherent, aggressive, angsty nonsense. I'll read it later bemused by how foolish I was. Just don't let anyone in your family accidentally find such entries.

I also rip up paper, but in my case it's more of absentminded activity.

I just remembered another one. Growl. Like a beast from the deepest chasms of the earth.

I did that when I was kid; hissed too.

 

[Android]

I've never really taken out my anger and frustration through the physical destruction of things. The implications behind it somewhat disturb me. If you can destroy random inanimate objects, how difficult would it be to move onto an animal or another person? Indulging desires for physical violence regardless of the target will only cause you to have that same desire, only with more frequency and intensity.

I disagree... in fact I find the exact opposite to be true.. at least in my case. I used to fight just for fun.. Especially when I got into a destructive mood; though most of the time I wasn't angry. Once I started releasing my anger elsewhere, the urge to beat on people became much less frequent, though I still do a very informal kind of fight club thing with friends occasionally.

 

[Cogwulf]

I've never really taken out my anger and frustration through the physical destruction of things. The implications behind it somewhat disturb me. If you can destroy random inanimate objects, how difficult would it be to move onto an animal or another person? Indulging desires for physical violence regardless of the target will only cause you to have that same desire, only with more frequency and intensity.

I read an article on myths and misconceptions about psychology which I think was posted on here, this was one of them. Apparently when you let out anger physically certain chemicals are released in your brain which actually lead to an addiction for letting out anger this way and and addiction to being angry as well.

 

[Firehazard159]

Personally, I'm a fairly kinesthetic person, and the two best things I've found, is to either:

A. Work out, intensely. You'll generate endorphins, which will make you feel happier, plus you'll exhaust any rage out, through the intensity. That's how I function, at least.

B. Sleep. It's like an automatic reset button for me, emotionally. And generally, if my emotions are out of control, it's due to a lack of sleep.

That said, I rarely actually rage. But, I do constantly fantasize about destruction, probably to an unhealthy extent. But I never act upon it, and if I feel the need, I go do push ups or run or jump or climb or... you get the idea.

 

[Mr.W]

A. Work out, intensely. You'll generate endorphins, which will make you feel happier, plus you'll exhaust any rage out, through the intensity. That's how I function, at least.

Never fails for me. Working out is a productive means to vent. It not only helps you physically release frustration, but in the end you feel like you've also gained something (in terms of your health and overall physical well-being). Push yourself as far as you can go, then push further (without hurting yourself, of course). Even if you can only do a few push ups or run for a few minutes, just keep pushing until you've worn yourself out and exhausted the rage. Your body will probably be too sore for you to care about anything else.

Then grab a snack and take a nap. Sleep, like firehazard mentioned--great reset for your mind.