Can expressing anger through drawing help you release the feeling without hurting anyone? Read exercises for adults and children, and the limits of this method.
You have spent an hour in evening traffic, the children are fighting when you get home, and a message about a rent increase is waiting on your phone. Something swells in your chest; you want to shout, slam the door, throw something. Anger is a feeling we all know, and a deeply human one. The problem is not anger itself but where and how we put it down. Expressing anger through drawing can be one of the ways of giving this feeling an outlet without hurting anyone. In this article we look at how anger poured onto paper can work, exercises you can try for adults and children, and the limits of this method.
What Does Expressing Anger Through Drawing Mean?
Anger is a feeling that signals that a boundary has been crossed, that we have been treated unfairly or that a need of ours has not been met. It is felt in the body as a racing heart, a clenched jaw, tensed shoulders and a rising energy. This energy wants to go somewhere.
Expressing anger through drawing means directing this energy onto paper, into paint or into a piece of clay. The aim here is not to make a beautiful picture but to give the feeling a form. Harsh lines, scribbles, dark colours, large blotches that fill the paper: all of these can be the language of anger.
There are a few simple ideas behind this approach:
- Making the feeling visible: While anger stays inside the body as a scattered sensation, once it is put on paper it gains a shape, a colour and a size. It is easier to relate to something that is visible.
- A safe target: Pressing a pencil into paper lets you use some of the body's energy without harming anyone.
- Distance: A few minutes later, you can look at the anger you have drawn from the outside. Looking and saying "this is my anger" is a different experience from being lost inside it.
- Gaining time: Drawing puts a few minutes between the most intense moment of anger and your reaction. Those few minutes may be enough to stop you saying something you would regret.
Does Putting It on Paper Reduce Anger?
The idea of "let your anger out and you'll feel better" is very common. Its roots go back to the concept of "catharsis", with which Aristotle described how tragedy brings about a purging through pity and fear. When it comes to anger, though, the picture is a little more complicated.
Simply discharging anger by intensifying it, for example hitting something angrily for minutes on end, or drawing the person you are angry with over and over while replaying them in your mind, does not always bring relief; for some people it can feed the anger. For this reason, when expressing anger through drawing, it is not only about "letting it out"; noticing and calming down afterwards are also an important part of the process.
A helpful anger drawing usually has three stages:
- Expressing: Leaving the anger on paper with colours, lines and scribbles.
- Looking and naming: Looking at what has emerged and asking yourself, "What lies beneath this anger? Hurt, tiredness, a sense of injustice?"
- Soothing: Drawing something calmer next to it on the same sheet or on a new page, slowing your breathing, folding the paper and putting it away.
These three stages can help you build a relationship with anger without suppressing it, but also without staying stuck inside it. We discuss separately, in our article on suppressed anger, how suppressing anger can carry physical and relational costs in the long term.
When anger is left on paper it does not disappear; but instead of controlling you, it starts to tell you something.
What Lies Beneath the Anger?
Anger is often described as a "cover emotion"; in other words, it can carry other feelings underneath. Hurt, shame, fear, helplessness, a sense of worthlessness or burnout can show on the outside as anger. One of the most valuable things about anger drawings is that they can help you notice these lower layers.
Let's say a mother notices that she often explodes in the evenings while helping her children with their homework. One evening she decides to draw her anger; she draws scattered red lines on the paper and, in the middle of them, a small grey figure. Looking at the figure, she thinks, "That's me; I'm so tired, and nobody helps me." She notices that beneath her anger lies a sense of loneliness created by trying to keep up with everything on her own. This realisation does not solve the problem by itself; but it may open the door to a conversation with her partner about sharing the load, instead of a shouting match.
In Turkey, the everyday burdens that feed anger are familiar to many people: long working hours, traffic, the rising cost of living, and boundaries constantly being tested in crowded family relationships. Becoming aware of these burdens can help you understand what anger is pointing to, without judging it as justified or unjustified.
Exercises for Adults: Expressing Anger Through Drawing
The exercises below are not therapy; they are creative self-care activities you can try in moments of anger. All you need is a sheet of paper and a few pencils or pastels.
The colour and shape of anger
Close your eyes and feel your anger in your body. If it had a colour, a shape and a texture, what would they be? Sharp or round, big or small, hot or cold? Put this onto paper. Then ask yourself: what does this shape want?
The body map
Draw a simple outline of a human figure on the paper. Use colours to show where in your body you feel the anger: chest, stomach, fists, jaw... This exercise helps you recognise the bodily signs of anger, so that next time you can notice it rising earlier.
Scribble and transform
For one minute, scribble on the paper as hard as you like. Then stop, take a few deep breaths and add lines in a softer colour on top of the same scribble, or look for a shape within it. This exercise gives concrete form to the move from an intense feeling to a calmer state.
Before and after
Divide the paper in two. On one side, draw your anger as it is now; on the other, how you would like to feel once you have calmed down. Look at the difference between the two sides: what do you need to get there?
The unsent picture
Express in a drawing what you want to say to the person you are angry with; but do not send it to them. When you have finished, you can keep the drawing, fold it up and put it away, or tear it up and throw it out. That decision is yours too. Sometimes, opening the drawing again a few days later and seeing how much your anger has changed can also be surprising.
A visual anger diary
For one week, after every situation in which you get angry, make a drawing of a few seconds in the corner of a small notebook: a colour, a line, a blotch. Next to it, write only the date and the situation. At the end of the week, when you look through the pages, you may see a pattern in the times of day, the people or the settings in which your anger rises. This pattern can be a concrete starting point for changing the conditions that trigger your anger.
Working with clay or dough
For some people, anger needs a material to knead with the hands more than paper. Squeezing and squashing a piece of clay or play dough and then slowly shaping it can accompany the physical energy of anger.
Expressing Anger Through Drawing with Children
Children often cannot put their anger into words; instead they shout, hit, throw themselves on the floor or throw things. Drawing can offer them another way of showing anger.
The anger monster
Ask your child to draw their anger as a monster. What is the monster called, where does it live, when does it come out, and what calms it down? This playful approach can help the child put some distance between themselves and their anger and be able to talk about it.
The anger thermometer
Draw a thermometer on paper and, together with your child, colour in the levels "a bit cross", "very cross" and "about to explode". Talk about what they feel in their body at each level and what they can do. This exercise can support the child in noticing anger rising earlier.
A calm-down corner
You can set up a small corner at home with paper, paints and a soft cushion. When the child gets angry, they know they can go there and draw. It is not a punishment corner; it is a space to pull themselves together.
Anger and drawing in teenagers
Teenagers often show their anger by slamming doors, shutting themselves in their rooms or saying harsh things. Telling them to "go and draw" usually does not work; but for a young person who already loves drawing, making cartoons or doodling in the margins of notebooks, this interest can be a natural channel for coping with anger. Noticing and supporting this channel is more effective than trying to steer it.
Avoid interpreting your child's anger drawing. Instead of questions such as "Does this red monster stand for your dad?", ask "Will you tell me about your monster?" We cover how to approach children's temper tantrums in detail in our article on temper tantrums in children.
The Limits of Expressing Anger Through Drawing
Anger left on paper can be relieving for many people; but this method has some limits:
- It does not solve the problem: Drawing may reduce the intensity of anger, but it does not remove the situation that caused it. The injustice at work, a recurring conflict with your partner or financial pressure are still there. Once you have calmed down, you need to think about how to deal with these situations.
- It does not suit everyone equally: While some people find relief in drawing, for others a walk, a breathing exercise or talking to a friend may be more effective.
- The risk of escalation: Drawing the person you are angry with again and again, in an increasingly angry way, may feed the anger rather than reduce it. If you notice this happening, it is a good idea to stop and switch to another way of calming down.
- It is no substitute for addressing violence: If anger reaches the point of harming yourself or others, this is not something a creative activity can deal with; it requires professional support.
You can find other ways of managing anger, and of regulating it without suppressing it, in our article on anger management.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Anger is a feeling everyone experiences; but in some situations it is important to speak to a professional:
- If you have frequent angry outbursts and feel intense regret afterwards
- If your relationships, work or family life are being damaged by anger
- If, when you get angry, you damage objects or harm yourself or others
- If you think long-standing unhappiness, anxiety or exhaustion lies beneath the anger
- If your child's temper tantrums are much more frequent and intense than expected for their age
If your own or someone else's safety is at risk, call 112 (emergency services) without waiting. These signs do not amount to a diagnosis on their own; but they deserve attention.
How Are Anger and Creative Methods Approached in Therapy?
When working with anger, the basic aim is not to get rid of anger, but to recognise it, understand it and be able to express it in healthier ways. In individual therapy, the situations that trigger anger, the feelings and thoughts beneath it, its bodily signs and alternative ways of responding can be explored. Cognitive behavioural therapy is one of the evidence-based approaches commonly used in this area.
Creative methods can find a place in this process as a supporting tool. For example, a client who finds it hard to describe their anger in words may, after drawing it as a colour or a shape, notice the hurt beneath the feeling. The drawing that emerges belongs to the client, and its interpretation is made together with them. With children, drawing and play are natural tools for expressing anger in a safe setting.
Where needed, a psychiatric assessment also becomes part of the process. We would like to remind you that research offers promising but limited findings for art-based approaches, and that these methods should be considered alongside psychotherapy, not in place of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need artistic talent to draw my anger?
No. The aim of anger drawings is not a beautiful picture but giving the feeling a form. Scribbles, blotches and harsh lines are at least as meaningful as a detailed drawing.
Should I keep my anger drawings or throw them away?
That is entirely up to you. Some people find it useful to keep their drawings and look at how their anger has changed over time, while others find tearing the paper up and throwing it away relieving. Both options are valid.
My child doesn't want to draw when they're angry. Should I make them?
No. At the most intense moment of anger, a child may not be able to turn to drawing. Help them calm down first; later, at a calmer moment, you can open up the subject with a game such as the anger monster.
Is it healthy to tear up or crumple paper?
Tearing up or crumpling paper, without harming yourself or your surroundings, can be a way of using the physical energy of anger safely. However, it is important to take time afterwards to calm down and think about the cause of the anger.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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