anger

The Emotion of Anger and Controlling It

Posted on by Mark Moran

Anger is a human emotion and hence neutral in regards to being bad or good.  It is a natural response to injustice and frustration of achieving an end.   Intent and how it is unleashed, combined with if it is controlled or uncontrolled all play roles in assigning if it is bad or good.  Regardless, too much anger can be harmful to the body and it is good to learn to properly process it safely.  Anger that is not processed properly can be destructive and full of vice as well as unhealthy over long period of times.  It can destroy lives, families, careers and end up resulting in crime and prison.

Uncontrolled anger can rip apart lives, families, careers and lead to incarceration. Please review AIHCP’s Anger Management Certification

 

Anger Management is hence an important life skill.  Properly channeling anger is key to a successful life. Anger Management teaches individuals how to identify anger triggers and properly cope with the emotion.  Those who have issues controlling anger should find counseling help in the field to learn techniques to better control anger.

The article, “A Guide to Anger Issues” by Mandy Baker looks at anger itself and presents a comprehensive guide to understanding it.  She discusses causes and symptoms of anger, as well as types of anger and where it is directed.  Most importantly, she points out the importance of Anger Management and the types of training one can utilize to better control anger.  She states,

“Anger is a natural human emotion. However, when anger is uncontrolled, it can become an issue. It can cause issues with your overall physical and mental health and daily life.  Signs of anger issues include regularly expressing your anger in unhelpful or destructive ways and anger being your standard emotion.  You can manage anger by getting regular exercise and learning relaxation techniques. However, if you still feel your anger may be becoming an issue, contact your doctor or mental health professional. There are therapies and training to help you manage and overcome anger issues.”

“A Guide to Anger Issues”. Mandy Baker. November 16th, 2022. HealthGrades

To review the entire article, please click here

Commentary

Anger is a powerful emotion that can have both positive and negative effects on our lives. It can help us take action, stand up for ourselves, and protect those around us. On the other hand, anger can be destructive, leading to destructive behavior, resentment, and even violence. That’s why it’s important to learn how to manage anger and find healthy ways to express it. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of anger management, how to identify emotions and triggers, and techniques for controlling your anger.

Introduction to Anger Management

Anger Management can help curb unhealthy angry outbursts and help one live a more healthy and peaceful life.

 

Anger management is a set of skills and strategies designed to help people better understand their emotions and how to manage them in a healthy way. It involves learning to recognize and express anger, as well as understanding the causes and triggers of anger. It also involves understanding the consequences of our behavior and learning to manage our responses in positive ways.

The goal of anger management is not to suppress or deny our feelings, but to learn to express them in a safe and constructive way. It’s not about avoiding anger entirely, but rather about understanding it, managing it, and using it in a positive way.  It is especially important to manage one’s anger when on the road, at work, or when around others.  Accidents, fights and physical injuries can all result from allowing anger to gain the upper hand over someone.

Benefits of Anger Management

The benefits of anger management are numerous. It can help improve communication, relationships, and overall quality of life. It can help you manage stress, tension, and frustration in a more effective way. It can also help you make better decisions, handle difficult conversations, and resolve conflicts more effectively.

Additionally, anger management can help you to better understand your triggers and how to manage them. It can also help you identify and work through underlying issues, such as feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or lonely. Finally, it can help you develop healthier coping mechanisms and find healthier outlets for your emotions.

Identifying Emotions and Triggers

The first step in mastering your emotions is to identify and understand what triggers your anger. This involves looking at the situations, people, and events that lead to anger and identifying the underlying emotions. It’s important to understand what triggers your anger, as this can help you manage it more effectively.

Once you have identified your triggers, you can start to recognize the emotions they trigger. This could include things like feeling disrespected, frustrated, or overwhelmed. It’s important to recognize these feelings and not try to ignore them. Once you have identified and accepted the emotions, you can start to look for healthier ways to manage and express them.

Ways to Manage Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety can often lead to anger, so it’s important to learn how to manage these emotions. Exercise and mindfulness can both be effective tools for managing stress and anxiety. Exercise can help to reduce tension, release endorphins, and improve overall mood. Mindfulness can help to keep you grounded in the present moment and can help to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.

It’s also important to get adequate rest and practice self-care. Taking time for yourself can help to reduce stress and give you the energy and focus to better manage your emotions. Finding healthy outlets for your emotions, such as art, music, or writing, can also be beneficial.

Techniques for Controlling Your Anger

Once you have identified your triggers and emotions, you can start to develop strategies for controlling your anger. This could include taking a few deep breaths and counting to ten. It could also involve walking away from the situation and focusing on calming activities, such as listening to music or taking a hot bath.

It’s also important to practice self-talk and positive affirmations. This could involve telling yourself, “I can handle this,” or “I can find a better way to handle this.” It’s also important to recognize that it’s okay to feel angry, but to learn how to express it in healthier ways.

Practical Steps for Managing Your Anger

Once you have identified your triggers and emotions, and have developed techniques for controlling your anger, you can start to take practical steps for managing your anger. This could include taking a break from the situation and finding a quiet place to calm down. It could also involve engaging in calming activities, such as going for a walk or listening to music.

It’s also important to practice communication techniques, such as active listening. This involves repeating back what the other person is saying and asking questions to better understand their perspective. It’s also important to take responsibility for your own actions and try to compromise when possible.

How to Avoid Anger Outbursts

Outbursts of anger can be damaging to relationships and can lead to destructive behavior. That’s why it’s important to learn how to avoid anger outbursts. This could involve recognizing when you are getting angry and taking a few deep breaths to calm down. It could also involve being mindful of your emotions and finding healthier outlets for your anger.

It’s also important to practice communication techniques such as active listening. This involves repeating back what the other person is saying and asking questions to better understand their perspective. Additionally, it’s important to take responsibility for your own actions and try to compromise when possible.

Professional Help for Anger Management

Certified Anger Management Consultants can help individuals learn about anger and how to better cope and control it in everyday life.

 

When anger is out of control, it’s important to seek professional help. A licensed mental health professional can provide guidance and support to help you learn how to better manage your anger. They can help you identify triggers and underlying emotions and work with you to develop strategies for managing your anger.

Additionally, a mental health professional can provide guidance on how to avoid anger outbursts and how to practice communication techniques. They can also help you develop a healthier relationship with anger and learn how to use it in a constructive way.

Developing a Healthy Relationship with Anger

The goal of anger management is not to suppress or deny our feelings, but to learn to express them in a safe and constructive way. It’s important to recognize that anger is a natural emotion and that it’s okay to feel angry. It’s also important to recognize that anger can be used in positive ways, such as standing up for yourself or taking action.

It’s also important to remember that anger is only one emotion and that there are other emotions, such as joy, love, and peace. It’s important to take time to recognize and appreciate these other emotions and to focus on building a healthy relationship with anger.

Conclusion

Anger is a powerful emotion that can have both positive and negative effects on our lives. That’s why it’s important to learn how to manage anger and find healthy ways to express it. In this article, we explored the benefits of anger management, how to identify emotions and triggers, and techniques for controlling your anger. We also explored practical steps for managing your anger, how to avoid anger outbursts, and the importance of seeking professional help. Finally, we discussed the importance of developing a healthy relationship with anger and how to use it in a constructive way.

By learning how to manage our emotions, we can create healthier relationships, reduce stress, and improve our overall quality of life. We can also learn how to use our emotions in a positive way and create a healthier relationship with anger.

If you’re struggling with anger and need help managing it, don’t hesitate to reach out to a mental health professional. They can provide guidance and support to help you learn how to better manage your anger and create a healthier relationship with it.

AIHCP offers an Anger Management Consulting Certification for professionals seeking training in helping others control anger.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Anger Management.  Please review the program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.

Additional Resources

“Control anger before it controls you”. American Psychological Association. March 3rd, 2022. Access here

“Anger”. Psychology Today Staff. Psychology Today.  Access here

“Anger”. Wikipedia. Access here

“Anger management: 10 tips to tame your temper”. Mayo Clinic Staff. Mayo Clinic.  Access here

“Do I Have Anger Issues? How to Identify and Treat an Angry Outlook”. Adrienne Santos. March 9th, 2021. Healthline. Access here

Anger Management Consulting Article on Social Anger and Rage in Society

Posted on by Mark Moran

We live in an angry society.   Society is divided and angry.  Unhealthy ways of expressing emotion online, on social media and at rallies and events are becoming very common.   Anger and uncontrolled rage is also manifesting in domestic terrorist acts and school and public shootings.  The inability to control anger and rage is leading to multiple national tragedies and a continued unstable social environment for all of the United States.

Misused anger in the social sphere can lead to social unrest and rage.

This is not to say anger has not always existed and manifested in forms of rage in our society, but the particular modern climate is especially anger prone.  Reflection is needed on how we treat each other, respect each other and deal with social strife.   Anger inappropriately channeled is leading to tragedy after tragedy and to needless ruthless and cruel commentary between Americans.

One of the first aspects is the role of social media.  Social media despite its numerous advantages has become to many, a personal diary.  Instead of maintaining some sort of privacy, everyone feels the need to share one’s religious, political and social views.  Individuals without hesitation will impose their views on a thread on Facebook or Twitter, expecting all to agree.  Without the face to face social norms present, an individual is more likely to be rude or speak vulgarly inducing more angry interaction.

Misuse of social media is part of why society is so angry in the present day

This lack of a mental filter has led to countless outbursts of anger throughout one’s day and in far worst cases can lead to bullying as well as extreme reactions.   Everyone feels offended if their ideals are questioned and responds in ways social norms would reject.  Many fume for days over social media debates.  They allow it to alter their day and affect their interaction with individuals throughout the day.

A second element to the higher angry energy is politics.  Present day politics is more divisive than any time in American history since the Civil War.  Abortion, homosexual and transgender rights,  gun control, immigration, healthcare, and Democrat vs Republican idealogies can destroy a friendship.   The anger is so personal that other Americans demonize the other for being liberal or conservative.  When confronted by an opposing idea, Americans react in the most angry ways.  Whether at rallies or protests, Americans show the true division existing in the nation with the angry outbursts.

These political outbursts are also tied to social media, where everything is seen and instant reactions from any average Joe or Sue are shared with the viewing community.  It is in such a dangerous political environment that fringe extremist groups have re-emerged.  These unhinged groups, already exhibiting rage issues, utilize the political divide and role of social media to further propagate fear, hate and anger.

Individuals have become so attune to this type of social behavior that the loss of older values and social norms seems to be on the decline.  Respect of others, decent language and boundaries of social behavior are all being strained and tested.   Individuals feel justified in their anger and that their anger is righteous.  In this demonization of the other view, right and left, liberal or conservative, feel they are fighting a noble crusade.  They feel their anger and only their anger is justified.  They feel their unbridled passion and raw emotion are justified against the evil they face in society.

So in most cases, the anger running rampant is both untamed and erroneously seen as justified.  This is a very dangerous mix.

With such a chaotic environment, the unhinged and mentally unstable find refuge.  Whether an extremist group, hate group, or individual mentally ill person, all can find a spot to share views and ideas on the chaos.   This leads to more anger and violence.  The reactions of the mentally ill are especially alarming.   Shootings in public places have sky rocketed in the recent years.  There are shootings at schools, movies, malls, and public events.  Most of these shooters are mentally ill and have serious issues.  They possess a rage against society and an anger that has never been properly cured.   Instead they represent the outcasts of society and have turned their anger towards whatever perceived wrongs into manifestos.   The inability to help the mentally ill and abused and to teach them how to deal with anger in a healthy way is a big challenge and current failure of today’s society.

Hence anger and rage is something that needs to be dealt with.  It cannot be allowed to continue to go unbridled and without guard.   The sources of the anger can be minimized but there will always be chaos in the world.  There will always be something to be angry about.  How one controls that anger and properly channels it is the key.   The irritants must not be allowed to be completely blamed for society’s anger issue.  Instead, one must look at how they handle angry situations.

First and foremost it is OK to be angry.  It is how one handles anger and rage that is the key.   One should not bottle it up in a introvert style way nor release it carelessly.  Instead, one must learn despite the political divide, the mental instability, as well as the readiness of a social platform to learn to curb one’s emotion.  One must learn to control how one reacts.

It is OK to be angry, but how we channel anger is the key to a healthy and safe life style

This involves not allowing emotion to overtake and instantly allowing emotion to dictate the response but in such a complicated political environment it takes more.  It also after reflection demands a healthy and legal outlet for a justified anger.  It involves reacting within the norms of law and social graces that respect others.  It demands from politicians reasonable language that does not induce rage within his or her followers.  It demands a return to class.

Anger Management skills can play a large role.  Although Anger Management cannot help with mental illness and political divide, it can at least start helping the vast majority of the population in venting their anger in a healthy, productive and positive way.  It involves not only how one processes social injustice and how one expresses it, but also importantly how one reacts to others.   One must be able to process anger, express anger but also react to others who still exhibit immature or unhealthy angry behavior.

The American Institute of Health Care Professionals offers a certification in Anger Management Consulting.  This certification is meant to help train others in the process of teaching Anger Management.  While Anger Management is critical to everyday life, it is especially critical in such a volatile social environment.  Whether it is political, social or public, one can find oneself in a variety of anger situations merely at home, work or while traveling.  It is key to attempt to control anger in all phases of life.

Please review our Anger Management Consulting Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. Utilizing anger properly is key to a better society

Anger is beneficial but it can also be dangerous if used improperly.  As a natural reaction, it is important to properly utilize it for not only public and personal safety, but also over health and long life.  If you interested in learning more about Anger Management Consulting then please review the program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.

 

Mark Moran, MA

Assistant Executive Director

AIHCP