5 Ways to Control Anger

We all have moments when we get so irritated by someone that we start to lose our temper. But we all know that losing our temper can be expensive.

It could lead to the loss of a job, or just leave us feeling totally drained. It certainly won’t do much to enhance our reputation with colleagues and friends. So here are five easy tips for keeping those feelings of anger under control;

1. Breathing

When you notice you are about to snap just stop, take a mental step back and notice your breathing. Take a few deep breathes. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. You’ll be amazed how this simple act will serve to calm you down. In addition while you’re concentrating on your breathing you are not going to be letting rip at a colleague or friend. So you are also buying yourself a bit of time to consider your response.

2. Create Your Own Oasis of Calm

Think about a time when you are at your most relaxed and calm. Create a picture of this time in your mind. Consider how you feel, what you think, what you can hear. What can you feel and smell? Make this a really vivid image. When you have got it captured create a signal for yourself such as holding your hands together or gently pinching the skin on the back of your hand. Then let the image go and do something else for 5 minutes. Then do it again – recreate that feeling of calm relaxation, and again use the same signal when you have got it back. Practice this three times a day and before long you will be able to generate this image for yourself at will when you start to feel angry.

3. Write It Out (But Don’t Send It Out!)

Sometimes, finding that emotional release can be as simple as getting your feelings into words. So grab a pen and some paper and ink out your thoughts—just keep them to yourself. The act of writing about the way you feel acts as a release. Try it and see for yourself!

4. Call a Friend

Find a friend or trusted colleague you can speak to about the way you are feeling. This helps you express the way you are feeling in a safe way and in the process somehow things get put back into perspective. And be sure to offer the same safe confidence next time your partner-in-crime is feeling spent, too.

5. Move Away from the Pain

Go and get yourself some physical space away from the problem. Walk around the block, go and have a coffee. Find a park and walk around it. The physical act of the exercise will get rid of some of that pressure you are feeling. But also getting some distance between you and the source of your frustration and anger will reduce the intensity of your feelings

If you are someone that gets angry very easily these tips may not be enough to help you control the way you feel. If that’s the case you may want to consider getting some professional help. One thing we all need to consider is that it’s not the other person that makes us angry – we have the choice to decide how to respond. If we get angry it’s because that’s the way we have chosen to respond.

Keywords; Anger management, controlling anger, keeping calm