Is Anger on the Menu?

Anger shows up when chronic illness keeps taking more than it gives, and pretending you are above that anger only turns it into something problematic. You are allowed to feel irritated that your body does not cooperate, frustrated that plans don’t work out, resentful that other people move through life with a freedom you no longer own. Anger is not proof that you are weak or negative, it is proof that something you care about has been disrupted and changed. The goal is not to eliminate anger but to stop letting it run your life from the background. When you acknowledge it directly, you create the possibility that anger becomes information instead of identity. It can show you what matters, what still feels unfair, and where you still want life to expand even within limits. Chronic illness change certain paths, but anger can remind you that the desire to live fully is still intact, and that desire is still worth listening to.

Dr. Jeff Bone