When we don’t access our true emotions and learn to honor them by acknowledging and then releasing them, they transmute into anger—pretty much every time. — Joshua Nash, LPC-S
Do you easily get angry? Well, maybe it’s time to do something about it before it gets worse.Though anger is a normal and healthy emotion to feel sometimes, not being able to keep it under control will definitely get you into a lot of trouble. Easily getting angry at something or someone may be a quick way to show your power but it’s also a shortcut that can land you in an uncontrolled situation. Take a look at the following anger management tips for you to know how to control your temper.
Be More Aware Of Your Emotions & Actions
Being able to recognize that you’re starting to get angry will give you a chance to either calm down or get you out of the scenario that you don’t want to be in. Look for warning signs such as your heartbeat going faster, quicker and deeper intakes of breath, clenching of fists, and tension building on your shoulders. Once you’ve noticed any of these signs happening then it’s time to stop and calm yourself. Do your best to cool down or just walk away to prevent the situation from escalating into something worse.
Think Before You Speak
Anger can make us say words that we will regret later on. Avoid adding fuel to the fire by carefully thinking of the words that you’re about to say before it even comes out of your mouth. Stay away from topics and statements that can only make you and the other party feel annoyed. Take a quick timeout and allow your thoughts to properly come together so you can avoid future complications.
Count
Counting is by far one of the most effective ways to control your anger. You can start counting from 0 to 10 when you’re stuck in a situation that is draining all your patience but you can’t get out of it. This will hopefully give you the time you need to calm down and see things clearly.
Changes in breathing force your heart rate to slow. A slower heart rate can, in turn, slow down your brain and racing thoughts. — Susanne Slay-Westbrook, LPC-S, LMFT-S
Take Deep Breaths
According to research, our bodies get tensed whenever we’re angry. And we all know that tension is one of the things that can easily make people feel mad. Taking several deep breaths can help remove the tension from our bodies and help us feel calm and relaxed.
Find an Outlet
Whether it’s painting, running, sleeping, dancing, or even singing, it’s good to have an outlet where you can let these unwanted emotions out. Bottling your anger is a bad idea because at some point you will explode, and the people around you including those innocent ones will experience something that they probably don’t deserve. So find that one thing that makes you really happy and do it whenever you feel like things are getting out of hand. Always try to turn your anger into something productive.
The real key in reducing or managing unwanted acting-out behaviors, then, may lie in validating feelings of anger while putting limits and boundaries around our reactions to anger. — Johannes Kieding, LMSW
We all get angry sometimes, but it’s what we do whenever that happens that really matters. We can either let it destroy us or we can do something about it and become better individuals. The choice is definitely yours.