Anger Management

Anger is a normal emotion that lets us know when things are not right for us, but it’s how you use anger that can create a problem. If anger is used constructively it can convey insights to yourself and others, give you power, and protect you from harm, however if it is used destructively it can harm you and others. Anger can be controlled by a simple scaling for yourself of 1-10, where 10 is completely out of control and 1 is the opposite. If you scale at a 5 or less you are safe to approach others, talk about your feelings and perhaps set some boundaries or be assertive, but if you are over 5 some self soothing is needed before you talk about your feelings to others. Anger at that level is more difficult to control and harm is likely to yourself or others. Self soothing will bring this scale down to a lower level. Some self soothing that works is going for a brisk walk, thinking of something pleasant, reframing your thinking, taking some time before approaching the other person, counting……..

The above are just some of the tools that help and there are many others. Art therapy, EMDR and hypnosis are methods of strategies that can be effective for exploring past experiences that may be the cause of repressed anger.