Tips for Controlling Your Anger

Anger is a perfectly natural human emotion that we all struggle with from time to time. However, some people are more inclined to get angry than others and they sometimes have difficulties controlling it. Uncontrolled anger can negatively impact your life, and it can harm your relationships and health.

Therefore, if you’re having trouble dealing with this emotion, check out the following anger management tips:

Identify your triggers

The first step towards controlling your anger is identifying the things that make you feel this way. Knowing what triggers your anger will allow you to avoid unpleasant situations, but it will also help you understand yourself better.

Several factors could make you lose your temper, such as traffic jams, certain people from your life, or specific tasks. Identifying these triggers could help you understand the real reasons behind your anger and, with some exercise, you could even move past feeling this way about them.

Many times, there is a deeper reason behind our anger. For example, there might be a certain person in our lives that seems to always push our buttons. Instead of blaming that person for our anger, we should try to understand what it is about that person that triggers negative emotions. Rationalizing our anger and finding its real cause makes it much easier for us to control this emotion.

Alternatively, if you are aware that certain situations like being late or working on specific tasks make you angry, you can try to eliminate them from your life. For example, instead of always being in a hurry, you could try to leave home earlier and diminish the chances of running late. If there are certain job-related tasks that you don’t like, you could try talking to your superior and ask them to assign you on different projects.

Write it down

An efficient way to calm down and see your issues from a fresh perspective is by writing things down. Sometimes you just need to find a way to express your emotions, and journaling is a great way to do it.

So, how can you do it?

Start by writing specific details about how you are feeling and what triggers that emotion. You can do this daily, or whenever you feel angry. By documenting these events, not only will you effectively calm down, but it will also be much easier to identify a pattern and figure out what triggered your anger.

Once you have a clear picture of the things that made you angry, you can start exploring solutions. This way, when a similar situation occurs again, you will know exactly what to do to make things better.

Talk to someone

Talking to someone about your feelings and the things that trigger them can help you see things from a new perspective. However, make sure that you are trying to find a real solution to your problem, and that you’re not just venting. It’s important to do this with someone you trust and who has a calming effect on you.

Alternatively, you can talk about something completely different than the source of your anger. Sometimes just spending time with a friend and taking your mind off the unpleasant situation can help you calm down and make you feel better.

If you feel like talking to a friend is not enough and you still feel overwhelmed by anger, don’t hesitate to seek help from a professional.

Relax

It’s pretty obvious that a great way to reduce your anger is by relaxing.

But, how can you do that?

Find activities that you enjoy and that help you calm down. For example, music might have that effect on you. Meditation is also extremely helpful and it can have long-term effects. In fact, studies show that consistently practicing meditation significantly improves our ability to deal with negative emotions like anger without reacting. For tips on how to get started with meditation, check out this article.

You can also try to practice deep breathing exercises. You can do this by breathing deeply through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Practicing this exercise will help you calm your body and it will also cause your heart rate to slow down.

Get some exercise

Exercise is a healthy way to deal with negative emotions. When you are angry, you get an energy rush. So, what better way to use it than going for a run, hitting the gym or practicing some other type of sport?

Through exercise, your body releases several brain chemicals that leave the feeling of happiness and relaxation. Physical and mental health are connected to each other, so practicing sport regularly has a positive effect on the way you manage your emotions.

Final thoughts

Contrary to popular opinion, feeling angry is not wrong and you should not feel bad for experiencing this emotion. As long as you don’t let it control you, it is a healthy and normal emotion.

For more tips on how to control your anger, download the Beautiful You app and share your experience with other amazing women!