EP 33: Befriending Your Anger with Graphic Artist Sacha Mardou

Everyone gets angry.   And most people have learned to hide their anger–often at great costs.   There is a LOT of baggage we carry around the emotion of anger.   These burdens come from our faith traditions, culture, family of origin, work, school and inform your relationship with anger today.   We are constantly navigating the many rules of what is ok and what is not ok when it comes to expressing, let alone feeling, anger.   In the process, anger can slowly start to consume us. Anger overwhelms  and it feels like it owns us—even as we’re doing our best not to show it.   But contrary to what many of us have been taught, anger is an important and valuable emotion.   You can own your anger instead of your anger owning you.   To own your anger, you’ve got to trust yourself. You’ve got to be able to hang out with the anger you feel so you can identify where it’s coming from and what it’s trying to tell you.   My guest today is no stranger to rumbling with her anger and leaning on IFS to help her better lead her emotions and her responses to them. Sacha Mardou (https://ifscomics.com/) is a cartoonist, author of the graphic novel series, Sky in Stereo, and many webcomics about therapy.   Bringing readers with her on her therapy journey has changed everything for both Sacha and those of us who get to experience the profound impact of her work–making the world feel a little less lonely as we navigate the vulnerability of being human.   Content Alert: There is mention in this conversation of sexual assault. We do not go into detail but it is mentioned in reference to a family member of Sacha’s around the 27 minute mark. Take care and don’t push through if it is too much.   Listen to the full episode to hear: * How sharing her personal comics and sketches has helped Sacha feel less alone and process her own experiences as readers have shared their lives with her * How Sacha has built in space and boundaries around sharing her comics and processing the feelings and events she depicts * The process of noticing and working through anger and frustration with herself and her mother * How allowing herself to feel anger was key to working through a familial legacy burden and how sharing those experiences reduces shame and helps put an end to intergenerational traumas   Learn more about Sacha Mardou: * Therapy Comics (https://ifscomics.com/) * Instagram: @mardou_draws (https://www.instagram.com/mardou_draws/) * Facebook: @sachamardou (https://www.facebook.com/sachamardou) * Sky in Stereo Vol. 1 (https://bookshop.org/books/sky-in-stereo-vol-1/9781941250310), Sky in Stereo Vol. 2 (https://bookshop.org/books/sky-in-stereo-vol-2/9781941250327)   Learn more about Rebecca: * rebeccaching.com (https://www.rebeccaching.com/) * Work With Rebecca (https://www.rebeccaching.com/work-with-me) * Sign up for the Weekly Rumble Email (https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5ececca2ff83f400265bbaab)   Resources: * Virginia Satir (https://satirglobal.org/) * Pema Chodron (https://pemachodronfoundation.org/) * My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies (https://bookshop.org/books/my-grandmother-s-hands-racialized-trauma-and-the-pathway-to-mending-our-hearts-and-bodies-9781942094470/9781942094470), Resmaa Menakem