Healthy Ways to Manage Your Anger

Anger is a normal emotion we feel being human. Anger can be felt within a range of intensity - from annoyed, frustrated, irritated, to severely angry and/or boiling inside. When feeling any range of these emotions, it is important to recognize the impacts of how we express these within our environments and within our relationships with others, as well as ourselves. Sometimes, anger can be expressed by yelling, swearing, and/or by physical aggression (such as throwing, smashing, or hitting). Other times, anger can be used in a positive manner to help motivate positive change or help us recognize unfairness or boundaries that have been crossed that hold importance to our value system. 

So, how do we know if anger is becoming a problem within our lives? Here are some questions to consider:

-Has someone expressed concerns regarding your temper? 

-Do you engage in substances to manage your anger? 

-Do you feel irritable, tense, and/or on edge most of the time?

-When angry, do you break or damage items around you?

-Is your relationships being impacted by your temper or aggressiveness? 

Anger management skills are beneficial to help individuals who are struggling with having coping skills to manage and address anger. Some important key points addressed when working in individual therapy with anger management skills are identifying triggers, early warning signs, and learning strategies to help de-escalate in potential escalating moments. 

Some specific coping strategies include: 

-Taking a time out by temporarily leaving a situation to calm down. 

-Grounding techniques, such as deep breathing, muscle tension relaxation, visualization, etc. 

-Engaging in physical exercise. 

-Recognizing the consequences of reacting off anger. 

-Utilizing assertiveness skills to communicate effectively to address root to anger. 

If you are struggling with anger and want to learn more about anger management skills, call our office at 859.338.0466 to schedule an appointment with one of our providers. Our current offices are located in Lexington, Frankfort, and Richmond, KY. We have been trusted mental health professionals in Central Kentucky for over 22 years! 

Supporting Articles: 

https://www.apa.org/topics/anger/control

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/anger-management/art-20045434

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/12195-anger-management