5 Effective Anger Management Strategies
WHAT IS ANGER?
Anger is an emotion, generally a feeling of antagonism. It signals to you that a situation is distressing, unfair, or dangerous, just like any other emotion.
Everyone has been angry at some point. You may feel everything from intense annoyance to ferocious rage when you’re angry. It’s acceptable and good to experience occasional anger in response to particular circumstances.
However, if your automatic response to rage is to erupt in wrath, that message is never given an opportunity to be communicated. So, even though it’s quite acceptable to feel furious after being treated unfairly or harmed, anger becomes an issue when it’s expressed in a way that endangers you or other people.
Events both internal and external might trigger anger. A traffic delay, a flight cancellation, or a specific person or event could be the source of your rage, or it could be brought on by fretting or obsessing over personal issues. Angry feelings can also be brought on by memories of upsetting or painful experiences.
We experience anger at all ages, from early childhood to old age. How we respond to anger depends on how much it interferes with our ability to reason and plan normally, how we have been taught to react, and what we decide to do.
Sometimes we choose before we act. Each of us experiences anger differently. Your personality, the things that matter to you, and the experiences you’ve had will all have an impact on the things that anger you. Even if you are incredibly furious, you might not express it at all. The circumstances that cause us to lose control of our anger vary for each of us, but this is a possibility for the majority of us.
TYPES OF ANGER
- PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE ANGER: When someone tries to suppress their anger, usually in order to avoid dealing with it, they end up letting it out in harmful and destructive ways.
- ASSERTIVE ANGER: This may be a constructive way to get your rage out. It entails controlling your anger by calmingly explaining the situation and using your words to try to defuse it. This is a non-threatening display of rage.
- OPENLY AGGRESSIVE ANGER: Physical or verbal aggressiveness, such as yelling or hitting items, may accompany this kind of rage. Usually, the intent of this kind of rage is to physically or emotionally harm the target of the fury.
- VERBAL ANGER: It’s common to observe people raising their voices when they are angry vocally. If their anger is focused at another person, they could become disrespectful and make rude comments.
- NON-VERBAL ANGER: A person who displays their anger nonverbally will exhibit some minor bodily changes. They might tighten their hand and jaw while scowling or frowning. Additionally, they could lash out at someone or something, perhaps physically damaging that person or thing as well as oneself in some circumstances.
CAUSES OF ANGER
Human emotions are not just brought on by hormone levels in the blood, such as adrenaline. Anger creates physical and mental stimulation, which raises adrenaline levels. The hormone that controls all forms of arousal is adrenaline. The hormone known as “fight or flight” is implicated in both excitement and terror, happiness and desire as well as rage and stress.
Every time our adrenaline levels rise, we don’t always respond the same way. Our physical bodies may respond similarly, beating rapidly, sweating, breathing quickly, and so on, but our perception of whether we are feeling anger (or another emotion) is influenced by our memories, moods, personalities, and the thinking, processing, and feeling areas of our brains.
Although people frequently show their anger in a variety of ways, there are typically four main triggers. It can be divided into four categories: frustrations, irritations, abuse, and unfairness. These categories contain few of the following things:
- Stress
- Feeling unappreciated and not fairly treated
- Relationship issues
- Financial difficulties
- Employment concerns
- Abuse or violence
Additionally, based on what you’ve discovered about the people and environment around you, it’s possible to have entirely unique triggers. These elements depend on your personal experiences and if you learnt constructive techniques to deal with your anger. Without those abilities, a person’s anger may build up until it explodes.
ANGER MANAGEMENT
Many people believe that learning to control your anger is part of anger management. But avoiding anger altogether is not a wise goal. No matter how hard you try to control your anger, it will eventually come out. The real objective of anger management is to recognize the meaning of the emotion and express it in a healthy way without losing control, not to conceal angry impulses. Not only will you feel better after doing this, but you’ll also be more likely to get your needs met, be able to handle conflict in your life better, and build stronger relationships.
It takes effort to master the art of controlling your anger, but the more you practice, the easier it will become. And the reward is enormous. Building stronger relationships, achieving your objectives, and living a happier, more fulfilling life will all be made possible by learning to regulate your anger and express it in the right situations.
Self-Introspection
Making wise decisions is challenging when you’re experiencing a strong unpleasant mood. To avoid climbing a cliff in the first place, try to talk yourself down off it instead of attempting to do so. Look for clues that you’re beginning to bother yourself. If you see the indications, leave the area or practice relaxing methods to stop your annoyance from getting worse.
Avoid Repetitive Thinking
Some people have a propensity to constantly bringing up the event that upset them. That is a fruitless tactic, especially if you have previously dealt with the matter that initially enraged you. Instead, make an effort to Express your self to a professional psychologist who is well trained in anger management counselling.
Mastering Relaxation Breathing Technique
Deep breathing and calming images are two straight forward relaxation techniques that can be used to reduce anger. It will be simpler to use one or more of these techniques when furious feelings arise if you regularly practice them. When you’re furious, you naturally breathe in more than you exhale. When we hyperventilate, we breathe too deeply and frequently, which makes us feel sicker and more worried. This is the exact opposite of soothing breathing. The trick to calming yourself down is to breathe out more than you inhale. Hyperventilation can occasionally result from anger.
Develop Healthy Communication
When someone is angry, they frequently make snap judgments and may say the first thing—often not in the best way. Prior to acting, try to pause and pay attention. After that, give your response some thoughtful consideration. Make a pledge to return later to finish the talk if you need to leave the room to calm down before continuing.
This type of counseling is specifically designed to assist you in altering how you respond to the things that irritate you. It’s common to control anger one-on-one or in small groups. A well-trained counselling psychologist systematically make you understand your triggers and the things that irritate you. This is the most effective and fast way to deal with your anger issues. Cognitive behavioral therapy and Transactional Analysis are some common approaches used by counselling psychologist. You can try online counselling before visiting a psychologist for face to face therapy.
Talking treatments and counseling can be beneficial as there are occasions when something more general about your life or circumstances, or even a painful memory from the past, acts as the catalyst for your anger instead of a recent event. When this happens, you may appear to get upset over trivial things all of a sudden, but the true source of your anger is something more significant and “slow-burning.” It can be challenging to handle this kind of persistent rage alone. It typically indicates that you haven’t been able to deal with or accept the source of your resentment. That can be the case if you’ve been treated unfairly and it seems impossible for you to change this. It makes sense to seek assistance when this is the situation. Talking treatments and online counseling can be beneficial.