Anger Management

Anger is normal for people. Everyone has experienced anger. The intensity of anger depends on people and situation. It is healthy to feel angry from time to time in response to certain situations. But sometimes people can experience uncontrollable anger that often affect on health. People under stress may have trouble controlling anger. Researchers have found that children with mental health conditions and adults with traumatic brain injuries are also more likely to have overwhelming anger. Research has found that anger management exercises improved and reduced of anger outbursts in any age groups.

Cause of Anger

Anger comes from a variety of sources and can vary widely. Some common anger triggers include:

• personal problems, such as missing a promotion at work or relationship difficulties
• a problem caused by another person such as cancelling plans
• an event like bad traffic or getting in a car accident
• memories of a traumatic or enraging event

In other cases, an anger problem may be caused by early trauma or events in a person’s life. In some cases, hormonal changes can also cause anger, as can certain mental disorders.

Symptoms of Anger

Some signs that your anger is not normal include:

• anger that affects your relationships and social life
• feeling that you have to hide or hold in your anger
• constant negative thinking and focusing on negative experiences
• constantly feeling impatient, irritated, and hostile
• arguing with others often, and getting angry in the process
• being physically violent when you’re angry
• threatening violence to people or their property
• an inability to control your anger
• feeling compelled to do, or doing, violent or impulsive things because you feel angry, such as driving recklessly or destroying things
• staying away from certain situations because you are anxious or depressed about your angry outbursts

Anger Management Exercise

Anger outbursts may cause harm to you and your surrounding people also. A good way to control anger is to us anger management exercises. These techniques work by first calming you down and then helping you move forward in a positive way. Use the following anger management exercises any time it feels your anger is overwhelming, until you feel calm:

Learn to breathe

When you’re angry, you might notice your breathing gets quicker and shallower. One easy way to calm your body and reduce your anger is to slow and deepen your breathing. Try breathing slowly into your nose and out your mouth. Breathe deeply from your belly rather than your chest. Repeat breaths as necessary.

Progressive muscle relaxation

Muscle tension is another sign of stress in the body that you may feel when you’re angry. To help calm down, you may want to try a progressive muscle relaxation technique. This involves slowly tensing and then relaxing each muscle group in the body, one at a time. Consider starting at the top of your head and move your way to your toes, or vice versa.

Visualize yourself calm

Imagining a relaxing place may help you reduce your anger. Sit in a quiet, comfortable space from your memory and close your eyes for a few moments. Let your imagination flow. As you think of what that relaxing place is like, think about small details. How does it smell or sound? Think about how calm and good you feel in that place.

Get moving

Besides being healthy for your bodily functions, regular exercise is very effective at reducing stress in the body and mind. Try to get some exercise every day to keep stress and anger at bay. For a quick way to manage anger, go for a brisk walk, bike ride, run. Or do some other form of physical activity when you feel anger growing.

Recognize your triggers

Usually, people get angry about specific things over and over again. Spend some time thinking about what makes you angry. Make an effort to avoid or deal with those things, if possible. For example, this might involve shutting the door to your child’s room when they don’t clean it instead of getting angry about the mess or it could mean using public transportation instead of driving to work if you are easily angered by traffic.

Stop and listen

When you are in an angry argument, you might find yourself jumping to conclusions and saying things that are unkind. Making an effort to stop and listen to the other person in the conversation before reacting can help your anger drop and allow you to better respond and resolve the situation. Think carefully before replying. Tell them you need to take a step away if you feel you need to cool down before you continue the conversation.

Change Thinking

Anger can make you feel like things are worse than they really are. Reduce your anger by replacing negative thoughts with more realistic ones. You can do this by avoiding extreme words, such as “never” or “always,” when you think. Other good strategies include keeping a balanced view of the world and turning your angry demands into requests instead.

Avoid Dwelling

You may rehash the same situation that made you upset over and over again, even if the problem is resolved. This is called dwelling or ruminating. Dwelling allows anger to last and could cause further arguments or other issues. Try to move past the thing that caused your anger. Instead, try to take a look at the positive parts of the person or situation that made you upset.

Know your body

When you get angry, your body tends to get very excited. Your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing speed, and body temperature may increase. Your body also releases certain stress hormones that put your body on high alert. Pay attention to your body when you’re angry. Learn your body’s anger warning signs. Next time you feel these warnings, you can step away from the situation or try a relaxation technique.

Takeaway

Anger is a common and useful emotion everyone experiences. It is also possible for anger to become overwhelming and cause problems sometimes. Anger management exercises are useful tools that can help identify and manage anger in a productive way.