Understanding Anger: 8 Effective Anger Management Strategies

A Quick Guide

Anger management is crucial for those struggling to control their anger. It involves self-monitoring, deep breathing, muscle relaxation, realistic expectations, empathy, monitoring tone, identifying underlying causes, and seeking professional help if necessary.

Introduction

Have you ever been so angry that you could not control it? Do you frequently experience episodes where your anger gets out of control? Do you wish you could manage your anger and respond to the situation more calmly? If your answer is yes, you are among the millions of others who wish to learn this skill of anger management but don’t know how. Fortunately, there are a few key strategies that you can adopt in your daily life that can help you manage your anger.

But first, let us understand

What is Anger?

“Anger is a natural emotional reaction in the face of a threat, insult, or provocation. This emotion usually follows up with hostile behavior and physical symptoms in the body.”

So now we have established that anger is a natural human emotion. It is not inherently negative. But the issue is that you struggle with either expressing or managing your anger.

It is important to note that usually there are two types of reactions you may have in response to anger. Neither of them is healthy. One common reaction is suppressing it, while the other one is being unable to control it and having an outburst.

When you are unable to control your anger, you may say terrible things, snap at your children, threaten coworkers, send impulsive emails, develop health complications, or even turn to physical violence.

But not all cases of anger problems are that severe. Instead, you can waste precious time dwelling on unpleasant incidents, become irritated in traffic, or complain about your job.

What is Anger Management?

Anger management utilizes a variety of approaches to support a person in managing their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a healthy and more favorable manner because unmanaged anger frequently results in aggressive behavior.

Now keeping your cool doesn’t mean you will never become angry. Instead, it focuses on developing positive and constructive strategies to identify, manage, and express your anger. Everyone can learn how to handle their anger. There is always space for growth, even if you believe you have your anger in check.

Why should you learn Anger Management?

Anger is a strong emotion that can vary in intensity from moderate annoyance to fury. While many consider anger to be exclusively a “bad emotion,” it can sometimes be constructive. You could use your anger to take a stand for somebody or to bring about societal change, etc.

However, unrestrained anger can result in aggressive conduct like screaming at people or causing property damage. Your health and well-being may suffer if you become isolated from the outside world out of anger. In short, when anger is experienced too frequently, too intensely, or is exhibited in inappropriate ways, it can have negative effects on one’s physical, psychological, and social well-being. 

Some Effective Anger Management Strategies

So, learning to manage anger is an essential skill that can be developed with practice. A few strategies that you can utilize to regulate your anger are stated as follows:

1. Practice self-monitoring

Start noticing your emotions, thoughts, and behavior in different situations. Particularly, those that trigger emotions of irritability, annoyance, or anger in you. Use your awareness as a sign to regulate and examine your thoughts. Replace irrational thoughts with rational ones. Similarly, use these new thoughts to manage your reaction.

2. Practice deep breathing

Relaxation exercises such as deep breathing can help you to reduce the physiological arousal which happens when you are very angry. Check out the step-by-step guides on the deep breathing process online or install an app on your phone to practice it whenever you feel angry.

3. Practice progressive muscle relaxation

Like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation is another exercise that can be used to regulate anger. Since when we are angry, our muscles get tensed. For instance, some people clench their jaw, tighten their fists, and tighten their shoulder and neck muscles. To release such anger stored in your body, check out the step-by-step video guide on youtube on progressive muscle relaxation and let your muscles lose by practicing this exercise consistently.

4. Maintain realistic expectations

Many times, other people may not react the way we want them to or fulfill our wishes or needs. Remind yourself that you cannot control them to behave exactly the way you want. Try to accept them the way they are and do not let them rile up your emotions by carrying around unrealistic expectations from them.

5. Try to see the situation from an empathic perspective

Empathy helps us to see and understand the world from another person’s perspective. In anger, practicing empathy can help you make sense of other people’s behavior. Once we have an explanation, it can help in reducing the intensity of our feelings. Ask yourself, what might that person be feeling when he made that statement? What was running through his mind? Am I misunderstanding his perspective?

6. Monitor your tone

Whenever you feel a surge of emotions, be aware of your tone and how you act. If possible, go to another room till you have calmed down. If not, actively try to keep your voice down and avoid cursing, shouting, or saying something you will regret later.

7. Try to identify the underlying causes of your anger

There could be some underlying causes for your anger; if you become angry quickly, it may be a sign that you are dealing with another emotion, such as anxiety, panic, stress, financial strain, interpersonal conflict, or trauma recovery. Moreover, hormone imbalances and mood disorders can also both contribute to aggression.

8. Consult a mental health professional for Anger Management therapy

If you think your anger is severe and affecting your relationships, work or school performance, or your daily life, consider taking anger management therapy from a mental health professional or psychiatrist.

Furthermore, while anger in and of itself is not a mental illness, it can occasionally be linked to mood disorders such as Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD), substance abuse problems, and other types of mental illnesses. A mental health professional may be able to rule out any other potential issues for your anger and then help you manage it better.

By practicing the above strategies consistently, you can learn to regulate your feelings and behaviors. If you want to learn more about anger management, check out the article ‘Road Rage: How to manage it using 9 simple tips ‘.