exercise · all tools
Complain Game
Two minutes complaining about something in your life you want different — as a bad mood, or all-out as a victim — then, after swapping, speak to your usual self in the voice of your higher or most resourceful self: '(A's name), this is Your Higher Self speaking. I heard what you have said, and I want to respond.' The Tantrum variation makes the complaining physical, and the manual notes people sometimes need care afterwards.
- The manual says of the Tantrum variation that people get physical and loud, and that some have had big reactions and wanted care afterwards — plan for both
- The manual records a Black participant explaining he could not let go because life required him to hold so tightly; it treats race as a real factor in who can safely tantrum, and so should whoever runs this
Practical
- Time
- 10-15 min
- Group
- 2–∞ · pairs
- Settings
- in-person, online
- Mechanisms
- emotional-processing, perspective-taking, cognitive-reframing
- Change scope
- state → skill · repeatable
Instructions
- Where
- authrev.org/ar-games-manual — Authentic Relating Games Manual, paid
- Availability
- In the source document — the instructions live inside the material linked, on its terms
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0 (Authentic Relating Games Manual)
Source link checked 31 Aug 2026 — unchanged since we recorded it on 29 Aug 2026
This directory describes and points home; the instructions stay with the people who made them.
Origin
Jason Digges (Integral Center); Tantrum variation by David Betz-Zall and Kasia (Authentic Seattle), for a games night called Playing Like a Child — Integral; carried into Authentic Relating (Authentic Relating Games Manual, 2025 edition)
In this directory via Authentic Relating Games Manual
Variation in the manual: Tantrum!! — exaggerate the complaint physically, then receive Higher Self advice.
status: checked · added 2026-08-31