Anger Management

Anger management helps an individual to deal with anger effectively. It focuses on reducing the stressors which lead to anger and building coping strategies to regulate anger in social situations. The therapist aims at identifying the source of anger and helps in managing it effectively.

There could be some events which trigger anger. These could be either internal (perceived injustices, failures, or frustrations) or external (losing something, being teased, or being humiliated). These events in turn lead to either covert (anger, sulking, depressive symptoms) or overt (arguments over words and temper tantrums) behavior.

Aggression is one way that people express their anger. It’s an evolutionary response that gets people ready to defend themselves against danger.

Anger outbursts that are out of control may be a sign of a more serious emotional or mental health problem. Through anger management, individuals learn how to control their anger reactions. It can help them identify the source of their anger. Trauma, addiction, bereavement, or any other situation may be the cause of anger. However, a typical tendency might be to yell in an attempt to find momentary relief. It may conceal the underlying cause of the anger. Anger management can help with dealing with these situations effectively.

Why is there a need for Anger management?

Anger management is effective for those who get easily irritated angry. Managing anger can help to improve your:

Mental health: Stress can make it difficult for you to concentrate, make you feel exhausted or cloud your judgment. It may also trigger other mental health conditions such as depression and drug addiction.

Physical health: Anger manifests physically in the body, creating an adrenaline rush, and a rapid increase in heart rate, increased blood pressure, and muscle tightness. Over time, this could have a detrimental effect on your health and cause physical health issues.

Career: Your performance may suffer if you struggle to focus on your work due to anger. It might also affect relationships with colleagues. Anger can have an impact on the discussions in the workplace as it might fuel otherwise healthy and constructive discussions.

Relationships: Relationships can suffer due to the anger issues of a loved one as they hamper the relationship between them. When a person feels angry, their response may not to appropriate to the situation they are in, which can lead to disturbed relationships.  This is because anger makes it hard for individuals to feel at ease with a person and can erode their trust and respect.

Benefits of anger management

• It helps the individual to know what circumstances make them angry, which can help them avoid these situations, or respond to them in a better way.
• It helps in identifying and altering the negative thoughts that lead to your anger.
• Anger management helps in regulating your emotions & behavior, and also in the development of coping mechanisms to help in dealing with situations that make you angry.
• It helps in resolving issues calmly. Trained mental health professionals can help you to look for alternate solutions and strategies in difficult situations.
• Anger management can help the individual to communicate in a constructive, forceful, or courteous way during difficult situations without becoming violent, which may also improve their communication with the others.

Self-Management of Anger

Finding Triggers and Reactions: Awareness of the causes of anger expression, which can be in the present or in the past, how the person reacts to them, and its consequences on the person and their relationships with others can help the individual to work on these causes and reactions.

Learning Techniques to Calm Anger: You can learn techniques for anger- management to control your anger through avoidance, distraction or self-soothing techniques which may help in dealing with the stressor in a better way. Relaxation skills like deep breathing, leaving the area and coming back when you’ve calmed down, or utilizing a calming image are found to be effective for lessening the intensity of anger.

Problem Solving: Sometimes there are unavoidable problems which are the root of our rage and frustration. Not all anger is inappropriate; in fact, it frequently serves as a healthy, natural reaction to these challenges. We can plan to effectively deal with these problems in a way so that they are not taxing for us. Individuals can plan ahead and monitor progress. Even if the issue is not resolved right away, a person can approach it with the best intentions and effort.

Better Communication: Sometimes anger is associated with other people. When the individual is unable to express themselves, it leads to anger. Being assertive and expressing yourself can be helpful while dealing with anger.

Therapies for Anger Management

Anger management involves understanding the causes of anger and its consequences, developing coping mechanisms, and working on negative beliefs and attitudes.

Several methods that can be used for anger management are:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Cognitive behavior therapy is a psychological treatment. It works on cognitions and behavior to modify the disturbed patterns of thinking and maladaptive behavior. It focuses on developing healthy problem-solving abilities and to enhance the coping strategies of an individual.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): By enhancing one’s capacity for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, mindfulness, and effective interpersonal communication, DBT can assist those who experience frequent or intense anger in regaining emotional control.

Family Therapy: Family therapy is designed to address specific issues affecting the health and functioning of the family. It focuses on improving communication between family members and resolving conflicts. There can be various difficulties within the family system like boundaries, lack of communication, affection as well as role conflicts which can have an impact on the individual as well as on the whole family.

Medications: Occasionally, when individuals have very severe anger outbursts, which turn violent, and pose a danger to themselves or others, medications can help quickly bring down the severity of thee episodes. Additionally, if anger stems from other disorders such as depression or anxiety treating these conditions can help improve the anger issues as well.

Here at Cognis Mindcare ™, our experienced team of trained psychiatrists and clinical psychologists offer an integrated management plan for helping individuals deal with anger management issues.