Mental & Emotional Health

So, the anger tests from last week told you that you were an angry person. (You threw something at your computer after that, didn’t you?) Well, what can you do about that?

Consciously choose to remain calm during anger-inducing situations. Instead of reacting immediately, stop & think. Think about your ultimate goals for the situation you’re in and react in an appropriate way. Literally choose to be calm. (You’re stuck in traffic and get angry about it. You want to scream and flip people off and get irate. Well … what is that going to do? Your goal is to get where you’re going, and getting angry isn’t going to help you advance to your goal. Use this time to make some phone calls, even call someone to vent, sing along to your radio and consciously choose to keep cool.)

Talk about your anger. If a specific person has angered you, tell them. Take a few moments after realizing your anger (to consciously choose to remain calm) and then use your words to express your anger. Keep your words PG and use “I feel” statements rather than “you” statements. Don’t accuse, but express your own feelings. The more composed and put-together you are, the more mature you’ll come across, and the more likely you are to get a more positive reaction. Choose to keep yourself relaxed.

If you need to, leave the anger-inducing situation. Leave until you can choose to keep yourself from reacting before thinking. Sometimes this is easier than others, but if you take things five minutes at time (which is how I make it through rough patches in my own life) you can handle any situation. Remember to relax as you’ve left the situation and think before you explode. Make conscious decisions! Choose to keep your internal self put together.

Take care of yourself. Do things you like to do; go for a long swim or a run, read a book, bake some bread, visit with friends, take your son to the park and watch him be amazed by grass! Then, when you’re in an anger-inducing situation, think back on these things that you so enjoy to do and let it soothe your increased blood pressure. Looking at these positive things is helpful for many Chose to remember the happy times during times of stress!

I realize that these may seem easier to read about than to implement, but by being aware that you are angry and that you can CHOOSE to be angry, you may start realizing that you can also choose NOT to be angry.

mental & emotional health, anger, anger management, anger management techniques, choices