Anger Management: How To Control And Reduce Angry Thoughts By Keeping Them In Check
Anger is a very common emotion. We all get angry and it’s a healthy emotion to have and experience. When does it become unhealthy? A lot can happen throughout your day or in your life. Stress and daily life can get us angry. Someone just cut you off in morning traffic, how do you choose to deal with the emotion? Does it spiral out of control and make everyone around you miserable? Or can you control it by letting it go and just move on with your day? Emotions are a normal part of life and we all experience them differently. Excessive anger can become a problem. Anger management is important and learning to identify triggers and controlling your anger can lead you to a better, happier, more productive life. How can you get started at getting better at anger management?
Anger is generally defined as “a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility” towards someone or something. Anger is usually healthy as it gives you an outlet to express negative feelings and may motivate you to find a pragmatic solution to your problem(s). As long as you are able to acknowledge, rationalize, release and move on there shouldn’t really be any issues associated with being able to express your anger. Expressing anger in excess can lead to problems. Not only for yourself but for the people you surround yourself with. Excessive anger can lead to increased blood pressure, other unwanted physiological changes and makes it more difficult for you to think logically. This can all compound and lead to other undesired physical and mental health problems. This can lead to problems at work as well as with personally relationships at home. Not knowing how to control or manage your anger can lead you to feel helpless and at the mercy of this powerful emotion. This article aims to give you some strategies to help you manage and release your anger. By practicing these daily, it will lead you to a better, healthier and more peaceful life.
What Can You Do In Your Daily Life To Keep Anger in Check? The Mayo Clinic has outlined some really good strategies that you can think about and implement in your daily life. By being consistent with these exercises, it can eventually lead to lasting behaviors that help you manage your anger efficiently. I’ve outlined their strategies here for you to look over:
Stop to think before you speak - don’t vent in the heat of the moment. Most likely you’ll say something you’ll regret for a long time. It’s best to cool off and collect yourself before you carry on with your conversation.
Once calm, express your anger - once you are calm and thinking clearly, it is important to express what frustrated you in an assertive, non-confrontational way. You can state your needs and concerns clearly and directly without hurting others or by attempting to control them.
Exercise - regular physical activity can help reduce the stresses that make you angry. Take the time to actively do this things you enjoy to help control and reduce your anger and stress.
Take some time to think and de-stress - Take short relaxation breaks throughout your day. This will calm your thoughts and you can think about how to handle stressful events that may be coming up during your day.
Identify possible solutions - Instead of focusing on what caused your anger. Try to think of possible solutions to work around the problem. It’s your chance to be creative and make the situation better. Anger won’t solve the issue. It will only make matters worse.
Don’t hold grudges, learn to let things go - forgiving others and letting things go is a very powerful tool. It allows you to move on and think positive thoughts. Dwelling on the negative can have downward spiral effects. Forgiveness is freedom.
Humor as a tool for release - Laughter can help diffuse the situation. Looking at it less seriously and lightening up can help everyone move past the issue. It’s important to avoid sarcasm, it can possibly hurt feeling or make the situation worse.
Practice Relaxation & Mindfulness - closing your eyes and visualizing a pleasant scene can help refocus and recenter your thoughts. Take deep breaths and picture yourself releasing any negative emotions as you breath out. This calming technique can help you manage future stress much more efficiently.
Know when it’s time to seek professional help - controlling anger and creating new habits can be challenging for all of us. If you feel your anger is out of control, making you regret your behavior or hurting people around you it’s probably time to reach out for some help.
How Can Hypnotherapy & Self-Hypnosis Can Help You Manage & Release Your Anger? Counselling is a fantastic way to learn new strategies and techniques to help you change your current ways of thinking or undesired behavior. In addition to counselling, Hypnotherapy can help you along with your goals as well.
Regular practice of self-hypnosis at home will teach you relaxation and mindfulness habits. This will also help greatly when you are trying to effectively implement the above mentioned strategies in your daily life.
A published medical study written by Sarah Y. Krakauer (2009) has shown that the use of silent therapeutic release during interactive hypnotherapy sessions are fantastic tool to use as well. By exploring past memories or deeply rooted subconscious behaviors and facilitating a release can greatly aid in helping you effect positive changes in your life.
If you have any questions, interested in trying out a session, or getting a personalized self-hypnosis tape made, please reach out and feel free to send me an e-mail.
Written By: Sebastian Di Cesare PhD, RHt - a research scientist & practicing Registered Hypnotherapist based in Vancouver, Canada.
