Exercises To Manage Our Response To Anger
In Jigsaw, when we work with a young person on their responses to anger, we ask them to think about the consequences. Lets say, for example, you get angry and smash your phone. The result: you have a broken phone and the thing making you angry probably hasnt changed.
Another visualisation exercise we try is thinking of anger like a thermometer with gradients going from 1 to 10.
Imagine how you would feel at the different points. At three, four, five maybe you have a twitchy leg, or a clenched fist. At six, seven eight, nine imagine how hot and strong that feels. Think how difficult your response gets to manage at this stage.
Its not wrong to be at ten out of ten anger. Its just we have little control over our responses when were at that point. The aim is to catch the anger rising and keep it at four or five to stay calm.
This animation was developed for us by students in the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin. It outlines ways to deal with anger.
We all feel anger at different stages. Its a common emotion but it can be helpful to try different ways to respond to it.
Referring Yourself For Therapy
If you need more support, you can get free psychological therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy , on the NHS.
You can refer yourself directly to a psychological therapies service without a referral from a GP.
There are many different causes of anger and it’s different for everyone.
Some common things that make people feel angry include:
- being treated unfairly and feeling powerless to do anything about it
- feeling threatened or attacked
- other people not respecting your authority, feelings or property
- being interrupted when you’re trying to achieve a goal
How you react to anger can depend on lots of things, including:
- the situation you’re in at the moment if you’re dealing with lots of problems or stress, you may find it harder to control your anger
- your family history you may have learned unhelpful ways of dealing with anger from the adults around you when you were a child
- events in your past people who experience traumatic, frightening or stressful events sometimes develop post-traumatic stress disorder which can lead to angry outbursts
- substances such as drugs and alcohol which make some people act more aggressively than usual
Some of the things that make you angry may not bother other people at all.
You might find it hard to explain why you feel this way but talking to someone could help you find a solution.
Find out about the 5 steps to mental wellbeing.
Why Do We Get Angry
Feelings of anger can arise if youre stressed, overwhelmed, fearful, under pressure, threatened, frustrated and powerless or when your expectations are not being met.
But anger also often masks other emotions like sadness or disappointment, which is why its sometimes referred to as a gateway emotion. Anger can mask feelings you either dont want to feel, dont know how to deal with, or youre not fully aware of, explains Madeleine Gauffin, Licensed Psychologist and Psychotherapist at Livi.
There may be biological causes too, for example some people get angry when theyre hungry, have been drinking alcohol or havent had enough sleep.
Recommended Reading: How To Stop Stressing About Work
Why We Feel Angry
Feeling angry often comes with physical sensations. Things like our heart beating faster, feeling hot or clenching our fists.
Anger can be difficult to express and manage. Particularly because a lot of us have been taught not to show it. We can be made feel guilty or ashamed about being angry, despite it being a necessary emotion.
This is unfair as well, and can further sustain feelings of anger. Until we learn how to manage it a different way, this keeps going in a circle.
We learn a lot about how to express emotions from our family. Think about the habits you may have picked up over the years. Do people close to you release anger in a healthy way?
Tips For Giving The Best Answer
Show the employer how you manage stress. That way, the interviewer can build up a clear picture of how well you adapt to stressful situations. For example, describe a time when you were given a difficult task or multiple assignments and how you rose to the occasion.
Focus on success. When you respond, share examples of how you succeeded despite being in a stressful situation, or of how you problem-solved to resolve the issue that caused stress.
When its a stressful job. Some jobs are stressful by nature. If youre applying for a high-stress job, be sure to let the interviewer know that youre used to working under stress and that its part of your normal routine.
Also Check: How To Tell If Your Cat Is Stressed
How To Deal With Angry People Efficiently & Effectively
When confronted by angry people, it is important to see past their feelings and not end up sharing them yourself.
You may be mentally disciplined, but you are not above losing your temper, nobody is. Even the Dalai Lama himself loses it from time to time, or, as he puts it, You never stop getting angry about small things.
A good idea is to try to find out a persons name. There is a lot of power in a name. Indeed, learning a persons name is one of the major steps of building a friendship. However, you should be careful not to overuse their name, as this can come across as patronizing, or even faintly antagonistic. The last thing an angry person wants to feel is that theyre being handled.
Being friendly and polite also helps, as does smiling. If a person is looking for a fight, it is best not to give them one. Instead, be professional, calm and unflappable.
Asking questions is also a great tactic. It allows the angry person to air their grievances and gives them an opportunity to reevaluate the events leading to their initial outburst on their own terms.
In many cases, they will unwittingly reveal a hole in their own logic, or apologize for something they did. When this happens, you can politely suggest a compromise, which will allow them to save face and allow you to resolve the issue.
Teaching Children How To Express Anger
Expressing anger appropriately is a learned behaviour. Suggestions on helping your child to deal with strong feelings include:
- Lead by example.
- Let them know that anger is natural and should be expressed appropriately.
- Treat your childs feelings with respect.
- Teach practical problem-solving skills.
Also Check: Can Stress Cause You To Spit Up Blood
How Our Helpline Works
For those seeking addiction treatment for themselves or a loved one, the PsychGuides.com helpline is a private and convenient solution.
We are standing by 24/7 to discuss your treatment options. Our representatives work solely for AAC and will discuss whether an AAC facility may be an option for you.
Our helpline is offered at no cost to you and with no obligation to enter into treatment. Neither PsychGuides.com nor AAC receives any commission or other fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a visitor may ultimately choose.
For more information on AACs commitment to ethical marketing and treatment practices, or to learn more about how to select a treatment provider, visit our About AAC page.
If you wish to explore additional treatment options or connect with a specific rehab center, you can browse top-rated listings or visit SAMHSA.
Start Off With Keeping Your Cool
Thomas Jefferson famously said, Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain cool and unruffled under all circumstances. and he was right. After all, you dont get to be the President of the United States by angrily overreacting to every little thing you dont like or cant control.
Or maybe you do .
Anyway, we all have our boiling point, but a good way to cool off is to focus on the positive things in your life, instead of caving into the negative. As the saying goes, positivity is a habit that becomes a lifestyle.
If you can relate to the stress-inducing circumstances of your day as simply a minor part of an otherwise good life, youll be amazed at how high your tolerance levels can become.
Remember, youre above all this. The person in front of you may be angry, but you dont have to share that feeling or join their argument.
Youre a professional doing your job. View their problems from a distance and deal with them in a calm, responsible manner.
Recommended Reading: How To Deal With Post Traumatic Stress Triggers
How To Answer How Do You Handle Stress
To answer this question successfully, you’ll want to provide specific examples of how you’ve handled stress well in the past. You might also provide examples of times when pressure actually made you work more productively.
Be careful how you respond. If you say you get stressed when you’re given multiple projects, and you know the job will require you to juggle many assignments at once, youll look like you’re not a good fit for the position.
Consider mentioning how a little stress can be a helpful motivator for you. Try to provide an example of a time when the stress of a difficult project helped you be a more creative and productive worker.
The Best Methods To Maintaining Your Composure
Maintaining composure is a skill like any other and, as such, it can be learned, even mastered, by anyone.
The trick is not to let yourself crack, and if you do start to crack, to not let the other person see it. Now is the time to work on that poker face.
Here are a few other ways you can stay cool, calm and collected.
Also Check: How To Treat Stress Urinary Incontinence
Get To Know Your Emotional Patterns
A psychologist can help you recognise the signals of anger in your body and the behaviour patterns that you fall into whenever you feel angry, says Gauffin. They can also help you to explore underlying emotions like sadness, low self-esteem, disappointment or frustration that may be fuelling your anger. This will help you to get to the root of your anger and learn more effective ways to express how you feel.
The Power Of Using I Statements
An I statement is a way of communicating the frustration you feel towards a person or situation without necessarily forcing blame upon them.
Using a you statement might be something like, youve ruined the roast. Look at it, youve burned it to a bloody crisp!
Whereas an I statement might be more along the lines of, Im really frustrated that the roast is ruined. I was looking forward to eating that
One statement focuses the ire and blame upon the person who burned the roast, while the other acknowledges the anger without aiming it at anyone in particular.
Correct use of I statements can really help to soothe a tense situationBut, sadly it wont save a burnt roast.
Also Check: How To Get Stress Free
How To Handle Stress At Work
- Luana Marques, PhD, Contributor
If youre currently working, you probably know what it feels like to be stressed on the job. A must-do project arrives without warning. Three emails stack up for each one you delete. Phones ring, meetings are scheduled, a coworker drops the ball on a shared assignment.
Therapies For Anger Management Issues
Many therapeutic strategies are available to help you deal with anger issues. Some of these include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Avoidance of problematic situations
- Humor and self-deprecation
While its possible to improve your anger response on your own, a qualified practitioner can help you move more quickly to successful management.
Recommended Reading: What’s The Best Way To Deal With Stress
How To Keep A Level Head
One of the best ways to avoid feeling excessive anger is to live a healthy lifestyle. Exercise regularly to reduce stress and work through feelings of irritation. Exercise can help you by releasing endorphins, feel-good chemicals that can boost your mood. Many people struggling with anxiety and depression find that regular exercise helps to level their mood.
Take the time to relax for a little while on a regular basis. That could be half an hour of quiet time before bed, or it could be a day to yourself each week. Avoid using drugs or alcohol to relax, because they can mask issues in the short term, but may make things worse in the long term. Try to find other outlets whether its sports, music, painting, writing, meditation, or yoga.
Tip : Learn Ways To Cool Down Quickly
Once you know how to recognize the warning signs that your temper is rising and anticipate your triggers, you can act quickly to deal with your anger before it spins out of control. There are many techniques that can help you cool down and keep your anger in check.
Focus on the physical sensations of anger. While it may seem counterintuitive, tuning into the way your body feels when youre angry often lessens the emotional intensity of your anger.
Take some deep breaths. Deep, slow breathing helps counteract rising tension. The key is to breathe deeply from the abdomen, getting as much fresh air as possible into your lungs.
Get moving. A brisk walk around the block is a great idea. Physical activity releases pent-up energy so you can approach the situation with a cooler head.
Use your senses. You can use sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste to quickly relieve stress and cool down. You might try listening to a favorite piece of music, looking at a treasured photo, savoring a cup of tea, or stroking a pet.
Stretch or massage areas of tension. Roll your shoulders if you are tensing them, for example, or gently massage your neck and scalp.
Slowly count to ten. Focus on the counting to let your rational mind catch up with your feelings. If you still feel out of control by the time you reach ten, start counting again.
Give yourself a reality check
When you start getting upset about something, take a moment to think about the situation. Ask yourself:
Also Check: Can Stress And Anxiety Cause Ed
Concerned About Stress And Anxiety
Take one of our 2-minute mental health quizzes to see if you may benefit from further diagnosis and treatment.
Similarly, if youre angry with your partner and want them to change a behavior, your attempt at controlling them is likely to produce a negative reaction. The goal is to share your thinking with the hope that youll be heard, not to shame the other person. Remember, its unlikely that you will be heard if your words and behaviors are lighting up the fear-response in your partners brain. Immaturity begets immaturity so often in relationships. It might feel critical to send a rude text to your partner while theyre at work or wake them up in the middle of the night with your grievances, but these strategies rarely accomplish more than escalating a conflict.
How We Express Anger
Sometimes we express anger in ways that are confusing to the people around us.
Imagine after a bad day at work, school or college, you become irritable and take it out on people close to you. Because you feel safe with them, its easier to show that anger. It can feel unsafe to show your anger with friends or co-workers.
But the result is raising your voice or slamming doors at home in response to something small. People at home then think your response is unreasonable. The issue is that the anger you feel hasnt been directed where it should be.
You May Like: How To Tell If My Cat Is Stressed Out
Putting Awareness Into Action: Slow Down To Avoid A Fight
The guy-versus-guy dynamic can give rise to anger, as this situation shows: a group of buddies have just come off the ice after playing hockey on a Thursday night. One of them, Brad, suggests they go out for a beer as they usually do. Another guy, Tom, says hes going to take a pass because he has an early start at work the next day.
Dont be a wuss, Brad replies.
Ill show you whos a wuss! barks hot-headed Tom, dropping his gloves and calling Brad on.
Suddenly, the mood has changed. Goodbye, good-time beers, hello anger and division.
This would have turned out very differently if Brad had simply said, No worries, next time, buddy! But Brad didnt do that, and really he was just disappointed that Tom opted out. He may also have felt unimportant by Toms decision to put work ahead of guy time. Had Brad stopped for a second to consider how he was feeling, the W word might not have been uttered.
Brad didnt intend to make Tom angry. But you know what they say about intentions: the road to hell is paved with good ones. The road to happiness, on the other hand, is paved by getting to know yourself better.
If theres a big holiday bonus and some Griswold eggnog in there, all the better!
What tips have helped you cool down a potentially heated situation? Share in the below!
The Link Between Anger And Stress
Buck Black offers psychotherapy for anger issues through his practice in the Lafayette Indiana area via phone, email, and office visits. He…Read More
Have you ever looked at the role stress has in anger? Many people say that stress is more prevalent today than 20 years ago. Likewise, others say there is more anger . Stress can certainly create a variety of problems. If you are prone to anger, then stress will likely increase your angry behaviors.
Stress is healthy when controlled. Healthy stress is what gets us out of bed in the morning and makes us pay attention to the details throughout our day. This type of stress does not cause anger or irritability. For those who do not have enough stress in their lives, they are often referred to as lazy or unmotivated.
Distress, on the other hand, is a type of stress that causes many people to be irritable and sometimes downright angry. This happens when the stress is too much and is no longer a motivator. You can think of this as when there is a combination of stressors and things just keep piling up. One day, the person does not know how to handle this anymore and there is an anger outburst.
Substances that often increase stress and anger:
- Sugar
Also Check: How To Relieve My Stress
