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So, which method is best?
If you know who abused you in the past, and you are able to connect real anger to that person, then redirect your anger as Ellie suggested (method one). Redirecting at the original trauma/scene will have the most powerful healing affect - because you are discharging anger where it first occurred. If you have a difficult time doing that for any reason, you can use method two as an alternate. One person once told me that they couldn't redirect at their mother, because the anger was so intense they would just collapse into a ball. That person would be a candidate for method two - until they can discharge enough anger to go back to method one. Other people have told me they just want to redirect at current people. That also is an option. There are times when it just seems too intellectual to try and figure out what person in the past to redirect at.
As stated before - find out what works for you.
If you don't know what to do, then just let your mind help you out. This is a method I use often. Sometimes I feel a slow burn of anger - and can't seem to connect it to anything in particular. So, I just start getting physical and start an unfinished phrase. For example, I start out saying something like:
I just want. . . .
I wish . . . .
What I'm really mad at is . . . .
This has never failed me. Something just pops into my head that finishes the sentence. The real issue seems to be just under consciousness and will easily come up if you allow it to.
I always find that the "finish" to the phrase is something rather simple and straight forward like:
I just want - people to stop ignoring me.
I wish - everyone would get away from me.
The idea of using a phrase came from Thomas Stone's book "Cure By Crying". He discovered that a simple phrase is always connected to the original trauma.
Always look for your feedback mechanism. This will be a noticeable reduction in a symptom - or some unusual high or feeling of calm. Whichever method gives you the best feedback - is the method that will be the most powerful for you at the time.
If you look at all the methods of discharging anger in its totality, you can hardly do it wrong. As I said earlier, the only way to do it wrong is:
(1) To only go through the motions - when you can't tap into some real anger.
(2) Hurt someone else in the process.
Suggested reading: If you would like to understand the healing process that you will experience with RST, you should read "Cure By Crying" by Thomas Stone. I'm not suggesting you actually need to use his therapy (not that there's any wrong with it), because Ellie's method is faster and easier. The reason I'm suggesting you read it - is because the healing process is the same and will give you a idea of what to expect. In addition, Thomas Stone has documented the most important discoveries in psychology over the last fifty years (except RST of course, which came after his book). Thomas Stone himself has discovered some new principles in psychology that are not widely known in mainstream psychology.