As human beings with emotions, anger is an inevitable occurrence in our lives, because we deal with other people and situations that make us angry, yet they are out of our control. And that is absolutely normal. The only problem comes when we let anger control our emotions.
When we try to control anger, we are doing two things: We are making sure anger does not control us. Secondly, we are trying to see that we don’t always get angry at everything we are in disagreement with or anything that seems not right. is about having the ability to deal with anger itself i.e. being able to keep anger under control, so that it does not end up controlling us instead. There are quite a number of things you can do to control your anger.
CALMNESS. Blowing off, shouting, or going wild all don’t help stop you from getting angry. Instead they worsen the situation. Don’t give yourself a headache because you are angry at something. Remain calm, take a deep breath and be optimistic that everything will get better. Calmness keeps things under control.
GET BUSY. Take the time to find things to do to keep you busy, especially activities that you enjoy. Go to the gym, take a walk, clean around the house, or do whatever crosses your mind. Don’t just sit there to think about the situation too much. You will definitely find a whole of things to do to keep you busy to help forget about your anger moment.
COMMUNICATE. If you are not happy with someone, holding back is more dangerous than respectfully talking to that person. If you express your dissatisfaction to someone, it might prevent that anger that was about to develop. The other person might try to adjust and correct their mistake. Remember to listen to the other person because you may not always right. Sometimes we misinterpret issues. So pay attention to the other person’s opinion if they have something to say.
FORGIVE. Keeping angry for a longer time is not healthy at all. Therefore, remaining mad at someone or something basically affects you and not the person who angered you. Forgiving them and letting go of the situation will help a great deal. Leaving the past behind is a better way to keep anger under control. You will have that inner peace when you forgive the person.
THINK POSITIVELY. Positive minded people control anger better than the pessimistic ones. Focus on the positive and think of better things that should occupy your mind other than a continuous state of anger. Don’t let anger become your life’s controller. Ignore simple moments that seem to get you angry. Things could be worse, so focus on the positive and don’t be preoccupied with negative feelings about just anything that is not in line with what you perceive as normal.
TIME APART. If you are with someone who has made you angry and you both don’t seem to come to an agreement at that point, it is best to take time apart. You could walk away from the person until you cool down and you are able to speak. If you are staying in the same house, you can go to another room, or take a walk outside if the weather permits.
TALK TO FRIENDS. Call your friends and talk to them. You can choose to talk to them about the situation that you are upset about, if they are your trusted close ones, or you can just talk about other stuff and this will help divert your thoughts.
PRAYER AND MEDITATION. If something really bothers you so much and you feel it is about to get you angry, pray about it. Or just have a quiet moment to meditate about it. When you return to normal activity, you will feel better. Prayer and meditation help control the depression that is associated with anger.
COUNSELLING. If you have tried all the means possible to control your anger and you still feel nothing has helped, perhaps it is time to go for counseling. Talk to an expert in anger management or your religious leader.
