How to maximize anger; rage cannot be controlled. Anger Management: How to Control Your Anger

People say that anger is not the best counselor and this is true. Being in such a state, a person does not think at all about what he says and does. It is in such a situation that you can do a lot of stupid things that you will have to regret for the rest of your adult life. Every person should know how to manage anger and anger, since this practice turns out to be very useful.

Irritability is a sign that a person is not happy with something and you should definitely learn to deal with it. Anger is harmful not only to psychological, but also to physiological health, so it is very important not to give it the opportunity to take over a person and slowly destroy his life.

Anger and irritability are factors that can arise for completely different reasons.. Often such a negative emotional outburst occurs in the head of a particular person due to the following factors:

  • Aggression caused by external or internal stimuli has been developing within a person for quite a long time;
  • the person is very afraid of something and this provokes the development of such a negative emotion;
  • there are some specific obstacles that prevent a person from moving towards his goal;
  • the person does not like how people from her immediate environment act towards her or something else;
  • the individual is faced with the concept of complete nervous exhaustion, which can be caused by both external and internal factors.

In general, any little thing can lead to irritation, which will lead to anger. This condition does not last very long, but can become a real problem for those who are around a person who acts out of anger.

It is important! For humans, anger is a normal emotion, because it once served a protective function. But now there is no particular need for such a protective mechanism, and if it works, then you need to immediately begin to fight this condition by giving yourself specific instructions.

Impact on a person’s psycho-emotional state

To make a person angry and irritated, you don’t need to do anything beyond natural. It is enough to regularly put pressure on his psyche, gradually irritating it. For example, a situation may arise in a family when one of its members stops bringing money into the house. Yes, the situation is not the best. Other family members can support their relative and say that this is not a death sentence, everything will work out and will be fine. But there is another way that can lead to anger. To finally bring a person to complete irritation and nervous exhaustion, those around you need to do the following:

  • regularly remind the person of his problems and failures;
  • demand from a relative what he cannot give in currently, with all his desire;
  • create quarrels and scandals.

A person, depending on how stable his psyche is, can look at all this calmly for some time. Negative emotions will accumulate inside, and unprocessed energy will explode in the form of an outburst of anger. For this to happen, other individuals do not always have to be provocateurs. When a person holds negative emotions within himself for a long time, does not vent to anyone, does not translate negative energy in something else, an outburst of anger can happen in complete solitude.

How to deal with irritation?

Absolutely every person must know how to cope with anger and irritability. To manage one’s own anger, a person can use different methods, the main ones of which are worth considering in more detail.

Effective exercises to get rid of negativity

To cope with your negative emotions and not harm your immediate environment, you need to do the following exercises:

  • go to the mirror and try to control your muscles, relaxing them to the maximum;
  • try to switch your attention to some distraction;
  • transport yourself mentally to those places that charge you with exclusively positive energy;
  • try to restore your breathing.

Ignoring and avoiding unpleasant situations

Everyone needs to clearly understand how to cope with anger and rage. Often, the best way preventing a negative outburst becomes simply an opportunity to avoid it.

Do you know how to manage anger?

YesNo

If you avoid extremely unpleasant situations or ignore them, you can prevent yourself from reaching such a state and keep your own negativity under control for a long period. But this will not always be successful; this method only helps to minimize the likelihood of the problem occurring.

Emotional outburst

A person's emotional state can be completely different. If it long time is negative and these emotions do not spill out anywhere, then the person risks facing a strong attack of anger. That is why, when the slightest negative emotions arise, you should try to do the following:

  • try to talk to someone;
  • try to switch to something else;
  • turn on some calm music and relax.

The main thing is not to try to hide negative emotions as deeply as possible, because such actions do not bode well.

Anger management

It is impossible to say that you can learn to completely control your anger, but you should still try to prevent such a state. To learn how to manage anger and irritability, you should try to do the following:

  • try to get away from anger by switching to something else;
  • admit to yourself that the process of emotional boiling has already started and begin to fight it;
  • to understand oneself, to find the real reason internal discomfort and try to cope with it;
  • throw out negativity in a safe way (for example, playing sports or doing some household chores);
  • warn your immediate environment that a specific action or conversation may cause outbursts of anger that are difficult to deal with.

Yes, it will be difficult to cope with the outburst of negativity, but it’s still worth trying.

Advice! To quickly cope with irritability, you need to remember your favorite activity and switch to it.

How can a teenager cope with anger?

Adolescence is special. This is exactly the threshold when a person ceases to be a child and begins to master the basic principles of adult life. During this time, the child may experience regular dissatisfaction with what is happening around him. He has already managed to feel a little grown up and wants the whole world to revolve around him, and this does not always happen that way. It is extremely necessary for a teenager to learn to manage anger and irritability, and for this he will need the support of loved ones.

A person of this age still needs to explain and show a lot, but this must be done carefully, because the excessive intrusiveness of adults and children is very annoying.

Small conclusion

Anger management is a very difficult process, but it must be learned. The main thing is to get rid of even the slightest irritability in time, to translate negative emotions in a positive and positive way to look at the world. If any dissatisfaction arises, you can carefully express it so as not to accumulate negativity in yourself, because this does not lead to anything good.

Sometimes emotions overwhelm you so much that instead of a thousand necessary phrases, you say a short one: “Words are not enough.” The fact is that the brain does not have time to generate enough images that can be quickly and easily translated into verbal form. Linguists believe that one of the reasons why this happens is the lack of words. Today we'll talk about how to increase lexicon in communication and shine in any dialogue.

General cleaning

To understand the cuisine of quick reading, a few articles are not enough. We recommend turning to books: this is a source of concentrated information, written in chronological order.

Purchase or download:

  • "The art of reading. How to Understand Books" Thomas Foster. Read before you start speed reading. Using the example of classic works, the author teaches to understand the meaning between the lines and perceive information from a different angle. “Memories, symbols, parallels—that’s what separates the professional reader from the amateur,” says Foster. Adopting a different model of reading books will help you better remember information, which will now be based on associative thinking and connected to experiences.
  • “Speed ​​reading in practice. How to read quickly and remember what you read well” Pavel Palagin. The book was recognized by millions of book lovers and received good reviews. The methods are simple and understandable, allowing you to master the technique of fast reading in a few weeks. The author harshly criticizes slow readers, thereby motivating them to quickly finish studying the issue. At seminars, Palagin does not hesitate to advise reading only 25% of the book and discarding the rest as unnecessary. This statement fuels the interest of the public, seeking to refute the words of the author.
  • "The Development of Memory" by Harry Lorraine. An ideal book for training your memory and imagination. After reading, you will begin to better perceive information, remember dates and large numbers, and continue effortlessly storyline any story.

Self-control is the highest of arts. Self-control in the fight against rudeness and rudeness, endurance in uncontrollable situations and a sober look at problems will make your life easier and help you avoid negative consequences from outbursts of rage.

Why are we angry

Anger is a kind of “release of steam” to the outside. Anger can be the end result of three things:


  1. Emotional or physical pain. In this case, our anger is a natural protective reaction of the body that has developed over thousands of years.
  2. Feelings of fear, doom and other primitive sensations that we are unable to resist and resist on our own.
  3. Your assessment of the situation. If an unfair (in your opinion) situation happened before your eyes, you begin to get angry and try with all your might to restore justice.

Anger management

How not to succumb to provocation and remain persistent, despite all life circumstances? Psychologists answer this question quite clearly, putting forward five techniques for dealing with anger.

The ability to manage anger is a useful skill for anyone who wants to preserve their nerves and the health of others. No conflict leads to an improvement in relations; any outbreak can provoke a big fire on which an “altar of enmity” will be erected. Do you need it? If not, learn to eradicate the habit of aggression and become a little kinder every day!

Danish writer and psychotherapist Ilse Sand, in her book “Compass of Emotions: How to Understand Your Feelings,” sorted out the real origins of aggression and gave recommendations on how to channel seething emotions into productive channels instead of destructive ones.

We all have moments when we get angry at other people. And it seems like there really is a reason for anger. Someone pushed you and didn't apologize. Someone has an important meeting, forcing them to change their plans. Someone interferes with their endearments and stupid SMS when they are stuck at work! You give vent to seemingly objective indignation, reprimand the “offender” - and as a result you get a conflict, a spoiled mood, strained relationships with others and other delights of splashed out anger.

At such moments, many are consoled by the thought: “He started it first, I just answered.” But that's not true. It is extremely rare that anger is just anger. Much more often we get angry at other people through no fault of theirs - the reasons for the rage are hidden within ourselves. Anger is a typical secondary feeling that arises only as a response to other, deeper emotions that we experience in connection with the situation.

These emotions that become the trigger for rage are in most cases based on one of four reasons.

  1. Someone, by word or deed, intentionally or accidentally hurt your pride, humiliated you, demonstrated your insignificance. This is one of the most common reasons anger. Vanity is a painful point for all humanity.
  2. Someone is offering you attention, intimacy, care that you are not ready to accept right now. The irritation that arises is self-defense; it works almost automatically.
  3. Someone is taking actions that are completely contrary to your values ​​and ideals.
  4. Someone's actions disrupt your plans and make it difficult to achieve your goals.

If you determine which of these reasons caused the anger, it will be easier to deal with the anger. Let's take a closer look at these four groups.

Anger that arises in response to criticism or humiliation is called narcissistic by psychologists. The majority’s reaction to it is predictable: people turn into children who push away the offender and shout to him: “You’re like that!” Those who are more restrained and rational have a different desire - to try to explain themselves, to point out to their counterpart that he was mistaken in his criticism, to get him to change his mind.

Unfortunately, these tactics most often do not work. If you lose your temper, the matter will escalate into a conflict in which your offender is unlikely to admit that you are right. If you start explaining yourself, you will most likely be considered a bore and will hardly be listened to.

What does it look like in life

Let’s imagine a husband and father (well, let’s say Kolya), who returns home after a day of work, sees wallpaper painted by children, a tired wife Nastya, and in addition discovers a mountain of dirty dishes in the kitchen. “You’ve been sitting at home all day, couldn’t you at least wash the dishes?!” - he flares up.

Nastya predictably boils in response. She wants to shout: “You can’t! Try to “stay at home” yourself, I’ll see how you cope with two children, run shopping with them, feed everyone, read a book with them, hang out the laundry!” Nastya, in the heat of the moment, is ready to list to Kolya all the work she does, but he doesn’t notice.

And, at first glance, Nastya is right. But if she gives vent to her indignation, this will only worsen the conflict.

What to do

Understand that anger in this case is a secondary feeling. Most likely, Nastya’s indignation hides not anger at her husband at all, but two other feelings.

1. Sadness

Sadness because a loved one sees Nastya not as she would like to appear in his eyes. Not a wife who puts a lot of effort into creating a “reliable rear” for her husband and being a good mother for their common children, but a lazy person and a slob.

If this is the case, then the best solution is to voice your true emotion. Tell Kolya: “I’m very upset that you’re scolding me.” Most likely, he will answer: “And what do you think I’m wrong about?!” And only now comes the moment when Nastya makes sense to indulge in explanations, because Kolya has expressed his readiness to listen to her.

2. Fear

This feeling is also often hidden behind narcissistic anger. Nastya is worried: if Kolya really considers her a slob, what if he doesn’t want to live with her anymore? What if he starts looking for another woman?

If Nastya is really afraid, she again needs to voice her experiences. For example, ask: “You say that... Does this mean you love me less?”

To this Kolya can answer: “I love you, but I’m so tired after work. I just want to come to a clean house where I’m greeted with dinner.” From an aggressor in Nastya’s eyes, Kolya will turn into what he is - a tired man who nevertheless loves her and the children. The fear will dissipate, and with it the anger will go away. And life’s problems can be solved without raising their voices at each other.

Holding your feelings in is not always helpful - it can lead to other problems. However, it's good to know that you still have a choice in how you respond.

Ilse Sand

This is also a common situation: there are times when we need to be alone. This happens when internal resources are depleted and a person needs a break to gather his strength again. Offers of care or help at such moments are not always welcome. Unconsciously defending ourselves from “invasion,” we push away loved ones.

What does it look like in life

For the last three months, Nina has been desperately working hard at work, counting on... But for some reason, management chose another employee. Nina returns home. She feels exhausted and empty, and doesn’t quite understand what to do next.

Nina’s husband Sergei also comes home. He smiles and brings groceries into the kitchen, but Nina has neither the desire nor the strength to communicate with him. She silently begins to prepare dinner.

At this moment, Sergei tries to hug her playfully and Nina feels irritation flare up in her. She abruptly shakes off his hand and wants to say: “Don’t touch me! Better go peel the potatoes!”

Most likely, these words of Sergei will offend with all the consequences for family relations consequences. In the morning, Nina will wake up with the sad thought that she is neither appreciated at work nor understood at home.

What to do

Again, understand that the anger that Nina experiences in response to the touch is secondary. It is not Sergei who causes her irritation: it is associated with a completely normal desire to be alone for some time.

And the smartest thing to do would be to say it out loud. For example, like this: “I don’t feel like talking right now, let me be alone.” Or in other words: “Sorry, you have nothing to do with it. I need to think a little, okay? When he lets go, I’ll tell you about it.”

Yes, in such cases it can be difficult to pull yourself together and formulate your feelings so as not to offend loved one. If you notice that you cannot cope with anger and are pushing away loved ones whose help you still need, it is worth discussing this situation with.

We cannot waste our lives suffering because we push away those we need so much.

Ilse Sand

3. Managing anger when someone denies our values

We are all different, and it is not surprising that our habits, behavior, ideas about “right” and “wrong” differ. Sometimes the differences are so great that they cause anger.

What does it look like in life

Masha loves her job, but Inna Pavlovna, who catches her in the corridor and begins to talk for a long, long time about what Masha is completely uninterested in: about the dacha, seedlings, grandson Kesha and chickenpox.

Sometimes Masha is ready to flare up: “Inna Pavlovna, why are you pestering me! I also have a lot of problems, I’m not dumping them on you! I value your personal space, so you will learn to value mine!”

But this is a destructive option: at the very least, it will ruin the relationship. At the very least, Inna Pavlovna will remember that she is the chief accountant here, and this will not end well for Masha, who occupies a lower position.

What to do

Realize: Inna Pavlovna’s whole fault lies in the fact that she behaves in a way that Masha would never behave. And here there are two options.

Firstly, you can try to persuade the “offender” to change his behavior so that it no longer contradicts Masha’s life principles. This can be done by citing, for example, the abundance of work. “Sorry, Inna Pavlovna, I’m very, very busy right now, the report is on fire!” - and repeat this mantra at every meeting.

Secondly, you can think about your own principles and perhaps reconsider some of them. That's why Masha tries not to tell anyone about her problems? Maybe she is afraid to strain those around her? Or does he consider them petty and of no interest to anyone? But this is a manifestation of complexes! It may well be that colleagues, if Masha learns to share her experiences with them, will be able to give useful advice. Allowing both others and yourself to talk about what “hurts” is a good decision.

If you place too high demands on yourself, you often get annoyed with those who allow themselves to relax.

Ilse Sand

However, if we are talking about values ​​and ideas, we will have to take a different approach. If, let's say, you care about environment, you will probably be angry when you see someone polluting it. And in this case, your indignation will be justified. Standing up for your values ​​will make you feel much better. Well, in order to feel like you, it makes sense to join an organization in which the value system is similar to yours.

In these situations we do not get what we want, and yet they do not fall into any of the other three categories. Here are some examples.

  1. It seems to you that someone is preventing you from achieving your goal (putting a spoke in your wheels).
  2. You don't get what you want (you feel disappointed).
  3. Others violate your boundaries by touching your things or dancing with your partner, clinging too closely to him. The latter provokes anger similar to that of animals when a stranger invades their territory.

What does it look like in life

Let's say your neighbor parks right in front of your garage. You can leave, but you will have to spend more time and effort on it than usual, and you’re already late! The first desire is to kick the offender’s car in the wheel, and when he gets out, tell him everything you think about him.

Taking out the anger seems like a good solution in this case. But, unfortunately, this will not lead to anything good. Most likely, you will hear from your neighbor something like: “I left the car for two minutes, and you threw a tantrum!” or “Who gave you the right to talk to me in that tone?!” As a result, you will have one more ill-wisher.

When you are angry, you have an unfulfilled desire. If you realize exactly what you want and convey it to your opponent instead of anger, you will achieve much better results in the long run.

Ilse Sand

What to do

If you understand that anger is associated with the fact that someone is violating your wishes, try to express your emotions not in the form of a reproach, but in the form of a wish. You can say to your neighbor, for example, the following: “If it’s not difficult for you, please drive the car literally a couple of meters to the left. Then it will be easier for me to leave.”

Most likely, such a polite request will be fulfilled and will not turn into a smoldering conflict. Instead of an opponent, you will get a person who has already collaborated with you once - and with a high probability will continue to cooperate.

The tips listed are just a few of the secrets of anger management. In the book “Compass of Emotions: How to Understand Your Feelings,” Ilse Sand explains how to recognize your true feelings and explain them tactfully but clearly to others. This will help you cope not only with anger, but also with other negative emotions: envy, resentment, shame - and squeeze positive opportunities out of them.

Useful tips

Anger and the desire to take your anger out on someone are not the most productive emotions, are they? In addition, they literally suck the remaining energy out of us.

In addition, such negative manifestations can end disastrously for everyone - after all, being under the influence of anger, you can do a lot of bad things, and also say a lot of evil words, which you will later regret.

What can you say about the possible bad consequences for your health? After all, it is negative emotions and stress are often the cause of numerous diseases. As they say, healthy nerves mean a healthy body.

Managing anger is not that easy. But it is quite possible to learn this - if only you have the desire. If you want to avoid stress and always maintain calm and composure, you should listen to these eight simple but extremely useful tips.

How to learn to control yourself in moments of anger

1. Try to let go


Isn’t it true that as soon as you hear such advice in moments of anger, it seems to you that if you do this, the end of the world will happen! Nothing will happen, rest assured! And here you don’t have to be an expert in the works of Dale Carnegie (meaning his book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”).

Just, even in moments of extreme anger, find a piece of strength to realize the following immutable fact: worry and be angry about the situation in which you got yourself, doesn't make any sense, because you ALREADY got yourself into it. Therefore, try to let go of the situation.

2. Breathe deeply!


The next time you find yourself in a stressful situation where you find it difficult to resist anger, find your willpower to stop for just a minute and do the following useful exercises:

  • Take five deep breaths in and out (your belly should stick out with each breath).
  • Imagine your stress and anger leaving your body and your mind with each deep exhalation.
  • Smile. If you find it difficult to do this - let it be a fake smile, but you have to do it. Believe me, it’s quite difficult to continue to feel angry and irritated when you have a rather stupid smile on your face!

If necessary, do not hesitate to return to the exercises described above, wherever you are - at home, at work or anywhere else.

3. Try to relieve stress


After execution breathing exercises mentioned above, make a peculiar self-scanning your body in order to determine those areas of stress that you still have.

For example, pay attention to whether you are playing with your nodules; Is your eye twitching? don’t you roll your shoulders in anger, like that boxer ready to rush into the attack! Perhaps you are simply clenching and unclenching your fists?

Gently touch (or massage) a tense area of ​​your body to help it relax. It may also help if you use your imagination, imagining that you are in a place that calms you (on the beach, on a massage table, in a bath, etc.).

How to stop being nervous in a stressful situation

4. Chew more slowly


You don't have to wait until you lose it to master the science of maintaining composure! People prone to anger tend to chew their food quite aggressively when they eat. Take control of this process, starting to chew more slowly (this way you can lose weight!).

In addition, if you swallow food, chewing it furiously and quickly, you will definitely eat more than you need (by the way, heartburn and stomach pain often occur in aggressive people for this very reason).

Become a mindful (or, if you prefer, a contemplative eater) who pays close attention to the taste of food, its texture, the aroma of every bite of food. Chew it slowly trying to feel or guess all the ingredients, from which the dish was prepared.

This tactic will take you one step closer to controlling the rest of your life, including your anger. In addition, you will begin to get enough sleep, since you will not go to bed on a full stomach and will no longer sometimes wake up at night due to hunger.

5. Enjoy the process


Whatever goal you set for yourself (including the desire to learn to maintain composure in any stressful situation), constant focus on the end result will lead to depletion of your physical and mental resources.

Let's say you have a clear, ambitious goal, the achievement of which requires a lot of time and patience from you? Break this global goal into small intermediate tasks. You will immediately have several more reasons to arrange a holiday for yourself when solving each of the problems.

Give yourself a unique opportunity to constantly receive fairly quick positive results that will allow you to be in high spirits, remain patient, remain a purposeful person. And then you will get much more pleasure from any process, much less irritated.

6. Try to put things into perspective


Once again, when the veil of anger begins to cloud your eyes, and the prospect of stress looms very close, take a deep breath and ask yourself the following question: Will this situation still irritate me just as much in a week? A month later? In a year? And in 10 years?

Take a hint: of course not, it won’t! Generally speaking, you can bet that in the vast majority of cases stressful situations that are bothering you now, will lose their relevance in a week(or even tomorrow). And tormenting yourself over things you can’t control is harmful to your health!

How to avoid stress

7. Stop expecting too much from yourself!


Yes, you are not a perfect person – and that’s quite normal! Remember how Jesus, when the sins of the harlot were pointed out to him, invited those accusers who were without sin to throw the first stone at her?

In the end, no one threw a stone. Because no one is perfect, and neither are you. Demanding perfection from yourself (or from anyone) is giving yourself an extra reason for stress for the simple reason that such perfection is IMPOSSIBLE!

8. Test your patience daily.


Doesn't sound very reasonable, right? You are trying to learn not to stress, but you are advised to test your strength! Meanwhile, it works, because in order to develop something in yourself, you need to train it. Moreover, the more often the better!

How, you ask? We present to your attention several simple ways that will allow you to daily train your ability to maintain composure in the face of various stressful situations:

  • Next time you go to the supermarket, select the longest line at the checkout and calmly wait until your turn comes.
  • Instead of paying your receipts online, go to free time to the bank, but stand without negative emotions the whole line.
  • Definitely moving towards the goal, deliberately lengthen the path, which you have to go through (literally and figuratively).


Do these tips sound overwhelming to you? Moreover, do you get annoyed when you read them? Then it's time for you to try them in practice! Ultimately, decide what do you even want. And, if you want to curb your anger, go for it!