How to control anger
Why do we get angry? Anger is a response to something that threatens or harms the self.
The limbic system and the prefrontal cortex work together to trigger anger in reaction to a threat, while serotonin and dopamine create an emotional response in the brain.
If you are feeling overwhelmed with anger, there are many ways you can control it including practicing mindfulness, deep breathing exercises, physical activity, being more mindful of your thoughts and beliefs about what triggers your anger.
These techniques will help you manage your emotions so that they don’t control you! Let’s take a look at some other ways for managing stress related to anger.
1. Identify the cause of your anger
2. Take a deep breath or count to 10
3. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes
4. Talk it out with someone you trust, like a friend or family member
5. Write down what is making you angry and why it is bothering you
6. Make a plan for how to avoid the problem in future situations
7. Practicing mindfulness
8. Physical activity
9. Crying it out
10. Using distraction
Identify the cause of your anger
When you feel overwhelmed by anger, it’s important to first identify the cause of your anger. There are many different reasons why we get angry, but there is usually some sort of connection between what is happening in our lives and the feelings we experience.
For example, let’s say that you feel angry when somebody criticizes or dismisses your ideas. Perhaps this happens in your friendships, in the workplace, or in your relationship with your partner.
Ask yourself what it is about their criticism that makes you feel angry. Is it because their opinion differs from yours? Or perhaps you feel that they are dismissing your thoughts due to who you are, rather than the merits of your ideas.
Understanding the triggers for your anger will make it easier to take certain steps for managing them in the future.
Take a deep breath or count to 10
When you feel overwhelmed by anger, one way to deal with this is to take a moment and calm down before reacting. This can be done by taking some deep breaths, closing your eyes, and focusing on your breathing.
You could also count slowly from 1 to 10, focusing on the numbers and imagining yourself becoming calmer with each number.
Deep breathing can help you relax by giving more oxygen to your body and brain which brings us to our next point…
Put yourself in someone else’s shoes
One way of thinking about anger is that it’s a reaction to something that makes you feel threatened or harmed in some way.
If somebody is criticizing your ideas, perhaps they don’t realize how important these ideas are to you. Or maybe they’re having a rough day and need some time alone.
Try to think about why this person might be acting the way they are and how their behavior might be motivated by something other than anger or irritation.
When we realize that people aren’t always acting out of anger, it becomes easier to allow them the space they need and to calmly communicate our own feelings.
Talk it out with someone you trust
One way of dealing with your anger is to communicate your feelings with someone you trust, like a friend or family member.
When we are feeling overwhelmed by anger, it can be difficult to think about our words before speaking. If this is the case for you, consider talking through what happened with another person in order to help come up with solutions and better understand your anger.
Writing down what is making you angry and why it is bothering you
When we are feeling overwhelmed by anger, it can be difficult to express our true feelings or to communicate them clearly.
Writing down what has made you angry and why this makes you feel the way that you do can help sort out your emotions and arrive at a better understanding of what you need to do to manage your anger.
Making a plan for how to avoid the problem in future situations
When we are feeling overwhelmed by anger, it can feel like our emotions have taken over and made us lash out in ways that we would not normally choose to act. It can be helpful to think about what we could have done differently in these situations.
Taking the time to really think about why we reacted the way that we did, and what steps we could take to avoid feeling this way again can help us feel more in control. If you’re struggling with identifying your feelings or communicating them effectively, you might want to consider working with a therapist.
A therapist will be able to help you learn how to better understand and communicate your anger, as well as deal with the underlying feelings that might be making you lash out.
They can also help you come up with strategies for avoiding problematic situations that make you feel angry in the future.
When we are able to better understand our emotions and express ourselves clearly, it becomes easier to work with our anger rather than struggle against it.
Practicing mindfulness
Another way of managing your anger is through mindfulness, a practice that involves being aware of the present moment and focusing on your physical sensations.
When we are feeling overwhelmed by anger it can feel like we’re trapped in our own minds, we can’t listen to other people, we’re stuck obsessing over what happened and how unfair it was and we’re not sure how to calm ourselves down.
The truth is, we will never arrive at a calm and rational state of mind unless we first learn to accept and understand our emotions as they are.
Mindfulness allows us the time and space we need to observe our emotions without becoming too attached or overwhelmed by them, so give it a try the next time you feel angry and see what happens!
Physical activity
When we are feeling overwhelmed by anger, it can be difficult to think about anything but our own emotional state.
The next time you find yourself in this position, try taking a walk, exercising, or playing a sport!
Physical activity helps relieve anger by releasing endorphins that help us feel more relaxed, happy and calm.
Besides being an effective way of managing your anger, physical activity can also give you a new perspective on the challenges you’re facing.
Crying it out
When we are feeling overwhelmed with anger, it can be difficult to allow ourselves to be vulnerable because we have this powerful urge to hide our pain or cover it up.
Crying it out allows us to safely process the pain and anger that we’re feeling by releasing it from our bodies, so when you find yourself overwhelmed with emotion the next time try crying!
It’s completely natural and there is always a reason behind why we feel the way we do.
Finding a safe, supportive environment where you can cry it out and be heard by someone who cares can help us grow from these experiences and come out stronger on the other side!
In order to manage your anger, it is important that you allow yourself to feel what you are feeling rather than hide it or pretend like it isn’t there.
Doing this can help us learn how to better understand and communicate our emotions, which is essential for working with them later on!
Using distraction
When we are feeling overwhelmed with anger, it can be difficult to focus on anything but what made us angry in the first place.
As a result, it might seem like the only way to get through it is by using unhealthy coping mechanisms such as using substances or acting out.
The next time you find yourself overwhelmed with anger try distracting yourself!
Watch a movie, talk to a friend, go for a walk around the block, listen to your favorite music and let yourself be taken away from whatever is upsetting you.
Distraction can help you separate yourself from the situation that is making you angry and help you to gain some perspective!
The bottom line
Thank you for reading this article about how to control anger. I hope that the tips provided will help you manage your emotions and avoid letting them get out of control.
If you found these strategies helpful, please share with family members or friends who may also need some guidance on managing their own anger issues.
Hopefully, more people can learn about what is possible when it comes to controlling one’s temper!
