Anger Management
We all get angry from time to time, it’s just human nature. The emotional state, “Anger”, is usually a reaction to a situation that your brain considers upsetting, unjust or threatening. You feel it when you think you or someone you care for was offended/hurt, when you are betrayed or things just aren’t going your way. Anger can cause increased adrenaline levels, increased heart rate and higher blood pressure; it can cause immense mental strain and impair the ability to think straight. Anger can be a good thing, by giving you a way to express negative feelings, as we know bottling up too many negative feelings can harm your mental health; anger can also motivate you to find solutions to the problems that are causing it. Anger is fine, as long as it can be controlled.
When does anger become a problem?
For some people, it’s very easy to lose their temper but very difficult to bring it under control. And often, in their enraged state, they lose control over their actions when they are really angry and end up hurting themselves or those around them. Later, they realize that they crossed the line and regret it, but the damage has already been done. This happens; most of us, if not all of us have done this at some point in our lives.
Anger can be problematic when you keep losing your temper, over trivial matters as well as serious ones, and when you can’t control it. Even though anger can help you in some situations by distracting you from painful feelings, it is well known that too much of it can lead to serious physical health complications like high blood pressure or even worse, heart attack. It can cause disruptions in your social life. For example, you may lash out on someone who was actually trying to be helpful or you may even go berserk and hurt someone physically. People with anger issues also find difficulties at work when they get triggered by their co-workers and end up offending them or find it difficult to concentrate.
Coping with anger
Anger is a natural emotional response that cannot be avoided. And, holding in your angry feelings for too long isn’t healthy. Your goal shouldn’t be to suppress it but to express it in a healthy way without losing control. You can’t just stop the things that make you angry, some situations are uncontrollable and are bound to make you angry. You can, however, learn to control your anger and the way you react in those situations.
Here are a few ways you can control your anger:
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Take deep breaths
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Listen to soothing music
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Go for a walk
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Repeat the words “relax” or “calm down”
SEEKING HELP
Control anger before it controls you! If you are a person with a history of anger issues that are making your life difficult you can walk in or contract us for an appointment with our mental health experts. Our anger management programme will help you understand your anger better and will teach you advanced techniques to successfully bring your anger under control. Our anger management programme will teach you how to react to situations that make you angry and how to behave with people in such situations.