8 Tools for Managing your Anger
1. Learn to recognize when you are feeling stressed â This will help you to reduce your stress before it is expressed as destructive anger.
2. Work on developing your empathy â Trying to see things from anotherâs perspective often helps to dissipate intense emotions.
3. Decide to respond instead of react â Although the way we react often feels automatic, we can actually choose how weâll think, feel and respond. This is empowering, and the road to freedom.
4. Change your self talk - Listen to the conversation in your head and learn to modify extreme, unbalanced thoughts. Look for exceptions to âyou alwaysâ kind of thinking, and reframe âyou mustâ or âyou shouldâ demands.
5. Learn to be assertive â Honest and open communication about your wishes, needs and preferences can stop resentment building â so it doesnât turn to anger.
6. Adjust your expectations â Often anger is triggered by a difference between our expectations and what we actually get. Thus, sometimes it is better to adjust our expectations so theyâre more in line with reality.
7. Forgiving doesnât mean forgetting â Although it is healthy to sometimes let things go, it doesnât mean we werenât hurt, upset or offended. The difference is weâre choosing to move on with our lives, and weâre not being controlled by external events.
8. Remove yourself from the situation â Retreating temporarily or taking time-out gives you space to think about whatâs the best thing to do. Thus, you maintain control of yourself and circumstances.
