It's hard to control your anger when something really bad happens. Many people are faced with anger management issues at one time or another. Hormone changes, stressful life events and emotional situations can make it difficult to cope with anger. Everyone feels angry at times, but it's important to know how to express your feelings in a healthy way without lashing out, shouting or becoming violent.
What is Anger?
Anger is a natural feeling, experienced when you feel frustrated, hurt, rejected or hostile. Anger is a natural emotion but sometimes anger can lead to behavior that is uncomfortable or out of control. It is important to understand that there is a positive side to anger. Healthy anger is part of the basic belief system that stems from a 'high frustration tolerance level'.
Anger is not a fixed emotion. Different people will experience anger on a different level; some handle it properly while some cannot handle it at all.
What happens when you are Angry?
Our brains are programmed to react aggressively when we get angry. When we are angry there is a rise in our blood pressure, our heart rate and our adrenaline. These physical changes gives us a feeling of strength and power.
What are the Consequences?
Angry feelings can actually put stress on your body which can lead to medical problems such as:
- Heart disease
- Chronic lower back pain
- Stomach problems
- Depression
- High blood pressure
- Insomnia
- Suicidal thoughts.
What do I do?
Effective anger management means that you are able to express your emotions positively. There are many ways to control anger so that you don't become angrier. Here are some ways to get you started:
- Repeat a word or phrase such as "relax" or "take it easy" in a slow, calm manner.
- Close your eyes, sit up straight, and breathe out the anger. Deep breathing exercises can be very calming and will help you regain control before losing your temper.
- Stretch your arms and legs up and outward from your body slowly. This relieves a large amount of physical tension.
- Take a time-out. Sometimes getting a little space or fresh air will help cool you down and give you some perspective.
- Meditation aims to calm the mind and by doing so can induce deep states of relaxation that trigger the relaxation response.
- Relax yourself, loosen your muscles, and just sit back, or lie down, and clear your head of everything negative. Rest can put things in proper perspective.
- Think about something which will make you happy. The best antidote to negativity is to focus on the positive.
- Try to understand why you are angry. If a particular situation or a person is making ou angry, talk to a friend. Tell him or her why you feel angry, and you may end up feeling not-so angry afterwards.
- Make sure you eat a balanced and healthy diet, and that you get enough sleep. Lack of sleep and food can make you feel irritable.
- Get some counseling lessons. Counseling will make you realize that anger is not going to help solve any problem, and an outburst will not make you feel better.
If your anger problem needs to be addressed, get help soon. Keep in mind that you should never turn to drinking or drugs to solve your problems because they will only add more problems to the bad situations you are already facing. It's important to try to get some balance in your lives.
