ANGER MANAGEMENT

What is Anger?
Anger is an intense emotion you feel when something has gone wrong or someone
has wronged you. It is typically characterized by feelings of stress, frustration, and
irritation. Everyone feels anger from time to time. It’s a perfectly normal response to
frustrating or difficult situations.
Anger only becomes a problem when it’s excessively displayed and begins to affect
your daily functioning and the way you relate with people. Anger can range in
intensity, from a slight annoyance to rage. It can sometimes be excessive or
irrational. In these cases, it can be hard to keep the emotion in check and could
cause you to behave in ways you wouldn’t otherwise behave. 

Characteristics 
When we are angry our body goes through certain biological and physiological
changes. Examples of biological changes your body might go through include: 

 Increased energy levels 

 Raised blood pressure 
 Spike in hormones like adrenaline  
 Increase in body temperature  
 Increased muscle tension 

Anger doesn’t look the same in everyone and we all express it in different ways.
Some outward characteristics you might notice when you are angry include. 

 Raised voices
 Clenched fists 
 Frowning or scowling 
 A clenched jaw 
 Physically trembling 
 Rapid heartbeats 
 Sweating excessively 
 Pacing excessively 

Complications:
Anger is a completely normal and typically healthy emotion. However, it can be
detrimental to both your emotional and physical health when you lose control of it.
When you are angry your body goes through some physiological and biological
changes.
Your heart rate quickens, and your blood pressure spikes. Your body also releases
hormones like adrenaline and noradrenaline. Putting your body through these
changes often, by repeatedly getting angry, can lead to medical conditions and
complications such as:

 High Blood Pressure

 Depression
 Anxiety
 Insomnia
 Substance Abuse
 Gastric ulcers
 Bowel disease
 Diabetes

Identifying Anger
Anger doesn’t look same in everyone as we all express it differently. For some
people, screaming might be an outlet for their anger while others might express it by
physically hitting an object or even another person.

Anger is a normal human emotion, but its important to find healthy ways to express it
so as not to alienate people around us. Expressing anger healthily is also important
for your mental health.

Causes 
Anger can be caused by either external or internal influences. A person or an event
could make you angry. You could be angry because someone cut in line in front of
you in line. You might feel angry when you are emotionally hurt, threatened, in pain,
or in a confrontation.

Sometimes we use anger to replace other emotions we would rather not deal with,
like emotional pain, fear, loneliness, or loss. In these cases, anger becomes a
secondary emotion. Anger could be a reaction to physical pain, a response to
feelings of fear, to protect yourself from a perceived attack, or in response to a
frustrating situation.3

Anger is often caused by a trigger this could be either rational or irrational. Some
common triggers that cause anger include: 

 Dealing with the loss of a loved one 

 Losing a job 
 Going through a breakup
 Failing at a job or a task 
 Being fatigued 
  Getting in an accident or getting a condition that causes physical changes in
your body (for example, losing your sight or your ability to walk)

Failing to deal with your anger may lead to:

 Health Problems
 Tension
 Accidents
 Interpersonal Problems
 Uncontrolled Anger can be DANGEROUS.
 It may lead to: CRIME-ABUSE-MORE VIOLENT BEHAVIO.
 Anger effect Relationships

Types of Anger
Assertive
Assertive anger uses feelings of frustration for positive change. You
express your anger in ways that create change around you – without
causing distress or destruction.

Behavioural
Behavioural anger is expressed physically and is usually aggressive.
You may feel so overwhelmed by your emotions that you lash out at
the object of your anger. 

Chronic
Chronic anger is an ongoing, generalized resentment of people,
frustration with certain circumstances, and anger towards oneself. 

Judgmental
Judgmental anger is usually a reaction to a perceived injustice or
someone else’s shortcoming. 
Overwhelmed
Overwhelmed anger is an uncontrolled type of anger that occurs when
you feel that a situation or circumstance is beyond our control,
resulting in feelings of hopelessness and frustration. 

Passive Aggressive
Passive aggressive anger is an avoidant and likely tries to avoid all
forms of confrontation. This involves repressing any feelings of
frustration or anger you’re experiencing.

Retaliatory
Retaliatory anger is usually an instinctual response to being
confronted or attacked by someone else and is one of the most
common types of anger. It is motivated by revenge for a perceived
wrong. 

Self-Abusive
Self-abusive anger is a shame based type of anger. If you have been
feeling hopeless, unworthy, humiliated or ashamed, you might
internalize those feelings and express anger via negative self-talk,
self-harm, substance use, or eating disordered behavior.

Verbal
Verbal anger is a form of anger that deeply hurts the target of one’s
anger. Verbal anger may be expressed as furious shouting, threats,
ridicule, sarcasm, intense blaming or criticism. 

Volatile
Volatile anger makes you feel mad about perceived annoyances, both
big and small. Once you have impulsively expressed your anger, you
often calm down just as quickly. 

Anger can also be expressed in either one of two ways: verbally or nonverbally.

 Verbally: When a person expresses their anger verbally, you are likely to see
them raise their voices. They might become insulting and say hurtful things if
their anger is directed at another person. 

 Nonverbally: You’ll notice some slight physical changes in a person who

expresses their anger nonverbally. They might frown or scowl and clench their
jaws and fist. They might also lash out at another person or object, sometimes
causing physical damage to the person or object and in some cases even
hurting themselves. 

The two ways people express their anger are not mutually exclusive and it’s possible
to see a person expressing anger in both ways. 

Treatment 
Anger is a normal emotion we all feel, and for most people, they can find ways to
express it in a healthy way. However, some people need treatment. The most
common way to treat excessive anger is with therapy.

Therapy
For most people, it’s easy to identify the triggers and emotions behind their anger.
But some people experience anger suddenly and intensely without being able to
curb it or identify the triggers behind it.

If you are experiencing frequent and intense bursts of anger that are causing
physical and emotional damage to you or the people around you then you might
need professional help with dealing with your anger.
Anger management therapy is used to help you learn healthy ways to cope with the
emotion.

Coping 
Finding ways to cope with anger is very important. When we allow anger to take
control of our lives, it can affect everything we do. It can damage relationships with
our loved ones and cause problems in our workplace. If you’ve been finding it difficult
to keep your anger in check in certain situations, here are a couple of coping
mechanisms that can help.

 Identify the Cause: The first step to coping with anger is identifying the root
cause of your anger. It could be another emotion—maybe one of fear or
loneliness. It could be an altercation you had or an unpleasant thought that came
to mind.

 Meditate: Meditation is very beneficial in helping to control human emotions. You

can start with simple meditation techniques like deep breathing exercises. When
faced with a situation that makes you angry, take a second before reacting. You
can take several deep breaths to calm yourself or try to count until you feel
yourself become calmer. 

 Work Out: Exercising isn’t just great for your physical health—it’s also beneficial
for your mental health. It’s also a way to channel out emotions like anger in a
useful and productive way. Going for a quick run or swim when you are angry
could help defuse the emotion.

 Let It Out: Don’t bottle your anger up. Expressing your anger when you feel it is
the healthiest way to get through it. Bottling up the emotion is most likely to cause
a sudden and intense outburst when you least expect it. 

 Avoid Triggers: If you are quick to become angry, it’s useful to try to identify and
avoid your triggers. If you are often triggered when having a conversation with a
particular person or about a particular topic, avoid them or that topic until you’ve
learned how to have better control over your anger.

The following are some TIPS to prevent/control

an Anger
 The key to anger reduction is knowing yourself
 Do important jobs now before they become urgent
 When you make mistakes, learn from them rather than getting angry.
 Don't criticize, condemn & complain because it makes you angry.
 Learn to say “No”
 Choose a job you love and you will not have a day of anger in your working
life
  Most problems are really the absence of ideas. Think ahead... anticipate... do
it or get it done, even if second best... you will be less angry.
 Organize your mind and organize your desk for 5 minutes every hour
 Accept what you cannot change & change what you cannot accept. 
 Say sorry at the right moment to reduce the anger of others.
 Never get angry with a man who has nothing to lose
 Never reply to a letter/ email when you are angry.
 Nobody can disgrace us other than ourselves. So why get angry?
 Never go to bed with an argument unsettled.
 Expectation breeds frustration. Frustration breeds anger.
 Work is the best remedy for all angers. Men who do not know how to fight
anger, die young.
 Indecision makes you angry. Therefore, decide this way or that way
 You cannot change others as easily as you can change yourself.
 Most people remember 20 % of what they hear... understand this fact to
reduce your anger.
 When you are ANGRY and UPSET remember… 1-2-3 TURTLE
1 – Go inside your shell
THINK before you ACT
Take a “Time Out”
Time to RELAX
Calm yourself down
Take 3 Deep Breaths
Think of a good solution ………….Walk Away

Finally………. Control Your Anger Before it controls you

Anger is one letter short of

D..A..N..G..E.. R!

Learning to cope with your anger is a skill you can learn. It can also take some time
to learn it, so don’t beat yourself up when you find yourself slipping into old habits
when you are angry. Go through coping mechanisms that have worked for you and
try them again.

It's important to remember that when expressed properly, anger is a healthy emotion.
It can also be beneficial in dangerous situations, as the emotion triggers our fight or
flight response. In some cases, this can be helpful in getting us out of a dangerous
situation.