What is Anger?
Anger is one of the most basic human emotions that human beings feel. It is an intense emotion that people experience when they feel that they have been wronged or something wrong has happened to them. It is a feeling that every human being experiences from time to time and the characteristics of anger could be stress, frustration, and irritation.
As Anger is a very basic emotion experienced from time to time, it becomes a concern only when it affects the person’s daily functioning and relationships with other people. The expression of anger can range from slight irritation to rage, the anger can be irrational as well as extreme in nature. The anger becomes difficult to manage especially when it reaches an extreme level.
Signs and Symptoms of Anger
When people experience the emotion of anger, their bodies also experience a series of biological and physiological changes in their bodies. For e.g. Increase in body temperature, increase in energy levels, increase in blood pressure, etc. Everyone expresses anger differently; some outward signs and symptoms are raised voices, clenched fists, rapid heartbeats, sweating profusely, etc.
Types of Anger
There are different types of ways in which an anger episode can be described. They are as follows:
1. Openly Aggressive Anger
Openly aggressive anger may look like extreme verbal and physical aggression such as screaming, verbally abusive language, and hitting. The goal of this kind of anger is to hurt the other person.
2. Passive-Aggressive Anger
Passive aggressive anger may look like the person is trying their best to suppress their anger but it is expressed in rather unhelpful and unhealthy ways. For e.g. giving the silent treatment, or using sarcasm in an unhealthy way to hurt the other person.
3. Assertive Anger
Assertive anger is the healthy expression of anger. Anger is expressed in a healthy and controlled manner and the intention of it is not to hurt the other person.
People must learn how to express anger assertively rather than expressing it in an aggressive or passive-aggressive manner. To do so one must learn how to manage their anger better.
Anger Management techniques:
1. Practice deep Breathing:
Practice the simple 4-4-6 deep breathing technique as it is excellent in managing the anger emotion.
2. Make a trigger list:
Make a list of triggers, the list has to be reviewed daily which can help the person remember the triggers and avoid them before they become a problem.
3. Make an Anger log:
One can record their experience after having an anger episode. The person can make a note of what happened before the episode, your thoughts and feelings when you were angry, and what or could you have done differently.
4. Divert yourself:
Going for a walk, listening to music, or watching movies are healthy ways of distracting oneself. Diverting oneself for even 30 minutes can help in dealing with anger better.
5. Practice Time-out:
Taking a time-out would mean walking away from the problem and using that opportunity to cool down and come back to the conversation later.
If managing anger is very difficult for a person even after trying the tools mentioned above, one must seek professional help from the best psychologists and psychiatrists in the city. Counselling from professionals can help individuals in learning how to manage their anger. The person can also join a voluntary luxury rehab such as Veda Wellness and Rehabilitation where they can focus on themselves and come back to their daily life when they have learned how to manage their anger well and not let it affect their daily life and relationships.
Janhavi Mehta
Psychologist
Veda Wellness and Rehabilitation