You'll Not Know It, But I'll Get You Back
- Lynda Savage, M.S., LMFT, LPC
- Series: Dear Rosa
Masking angry feelings, a loved one can act them out in deliberate, but hidden ways. The child who is angry at his mother but fears expressing himself directly may pretend not to hear her when she calls him for dinner or may choose to complete his chores in an intentionally incorrect way that he knows will infuriate her. In these ways, the child gets his mother to act out the feelings that he had been holding inside. Adults can, in similar but perhaps more “grown-up” ways, get revenge.
