Things You Need to Know about Anger and Anger Management

The Meaning of Anger

As long as human emotions have been studied, anger has been a prominent subject. Musings and accounts dating back to Aristotle indicate the vast literature available on this subject. Given this fact, a lot has been said about anger as an emotion, a feeling, a “Flight-Fight” response, etc. Anger has been defined as an emotion that involves responses to a perceived provocation. It has both internal (personality issues, hostility, etc.) and external factors (peer influence, environmental factors, etc.) at play.

There are four major elements of anger:

Thoughts: Anger is considered a product of thinking processes that take place before the actual emotion develops. 

Feelings: Pain and fear are the best examples of feeling states that precede anger.

Behaviour: The overt expression of anger

Physiological Arousal: The biological changes triggered by anger include increased heart rate, flushed face, hormonal changes, etc.

Expression of Anger

The expression of anger involves the following ways:

1. Destructive, and unfruitful behaviors such as yelling, throwing objects, etc.
2. Suppression of anger leads to self-destructive behaviors such as self-criticism, drinking, etc.
3. Positive expressions to control anger by calming oneself, and using constructive measures to deal with events.

Anger also has essential instinctive elements that are an important role in “fight or flight” like reactions. Thus, anger can be useful if:

• It serves to protect oneself or others from potential danger
• It is constructively oriented, and controlled.

However, anger becomes problematic if one:

• Exhibits tendencies to harm, disparage, and insult other people
• Uses  violent measures unnecessarily
• Expresses anger frequently and for undue periods
• Develops issues such as anxiety, depression, poor social relationships, etc.

How to manage your anger?

As an emotion, anger is manageable. Various theorists and experts have focused on this area highlighting various strategies for effective control and management of anger. There are many other strategies other than the ones discussed here. However, the common link between them is their intended purpose of providing constructive expressions and an outlet for anger. Supervision from mental health professionals is highly recommended when applying these strategies. They can be applied on a general basis as well.

Strategies focusing on thoughts:

Modifying expectations: Modification of expectations that one holds from a situation or significant others is often helpful. It helps in building self-reliance and healthier relationships.

Imagery: Trying to imagine the consequences of one’s action can provide a time gap to analyze responses better, especially when it focuses on making constructive choices.

Thought stopping: Using cues and signs to switch to an alternate activity and halting an angry thought process is also beneficial.

Channelize thoughts: Constructive channelization of thoughts helps to dissipate negative emotions.

Strategies focusing on feeling:

Maintain a journal: Avoid bottling up painful feelings. Instead, express them in a daily/weekly journal. This allows a healthy outlet

Confide in significant others: Consider expressing feelings about events to close friends or confidantes. Such effective communication can help in feeling relaxed and positive.

Strategies focusing on behavior:

Creative activities: Indulging in creative pursuits like painting, music, photography, etc is a constructive attempt to break the cycle of anger.

Improving time management skills: Often the incompletion of a task serves as a trigger for anger. Thus, working on improving such skills can help avoid unpleasant outcomes.

Practicing healthy lifestyle habits: Engaging in exercise, eating healthy, maintaining adequate sleep hours, etc provide impetus to anger management.

Strategies focusing on physiological responses:

Meditation: Known for its healing effects, meditative practices such as mantra chanting, muscle relaxation, etc., bolster constructive and positive emotions. 

Counting: Counting backward or forward from  1-100 or 50-1, can serve as a distraction as well as a time bracket to calm oneself steadily.

Anger management is a fluid routine that can be adapted to various settings, and individual needs. It is important to understand the underlying dynamics of negative expressions of anger and therefore therapy is recommended.  Professional guidance and online counseling for anger management have more potential for success.

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