Source: CCN 精彩大马
Published date: 8th November 2021
By Ms. Lee Li Li, Clinical Psychologist
Anger is a completely normal and healthy emotion. But when it gets out of control and turns destructive, it can lead to problems — problems in your personal relationship, your well-being and in the overall quality of your life.
Everyone feels angry from time to time. Anger can lead to positive change if you express it in a useful and constructive way. However, on the down side, too much anger is not good for you. Some people may express their anger in unhelpful ways, like making hurtful comments, breaking laws or causing environmental damage.
Expressing Anger
According to various research conducted by American Psychology Association, "anger varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage. When you get angry, your face turns into red, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones".
"Anger can be caused by both external and internal events. You could be angry at a specific person or a traffic jam, or your anger could be caused by worrying or brooding about your personal problems. Memories of traumatic or enraging events can also trigger angry feelings".
Everyone express anger differently. People usually use both conscious and unconscious processes to deal with their angry feelings. The two basic approaches are expressing and suppressing. "Expressing your angry feelings in an assertive manner to express anger but it doesn't mean being pushy or demanding; it means being respectful of yourself and others."
Controlling Your Anger
"Anger can be suppressed, and then converted or redirected, such as when you hold in your anger, stop thinking about it, and focus on something positive. However, the danger in this type of response is that if it isn't allowed outward expression, your anger can turn inward—on yourself. Anger turned inward may cause emotional disorders, such as anxiety, hypertension, high blood pressure, or depression and other physical problems."
To maintain your physical and mental health, the frequency of getting angry needs to be reduced and you may find better ways to deal with this emotion without suppressing it. For instance, considering effective communication, mediation by a third party, listening to others, breathing techniques and more.
People who are easily angered generally have low tolerance for frustration, or come from families that are disruptive, chaotic, and not skilled at emotional communications. Some people get loud or use shouting to express their feelings when they're angry, while other people get quiet and withdraw themselves from others. People who often get angry "People who get angry easily or often can have a negative impact on their physical health, mental health and social relationships." They are more likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes, low immunity, insomnia and high blood pressure. As their concentration gets affected, they will be more stressed when facing greater stress and they are prone to mental health problems such as depression or anxiety.
Find Someone To Talk
It's unhealthy to suppress your anger, as well as vent your bottled anger to others. Instead, we should find healthy ways to express our emotions, such as talking to someone about your feelings, writing or drawing about what makes you angry, or find a safe space to manage feelings. Besides that, learning how to manage your anger will help to strengthen your relationships, as well as build healthy body and mind.
Ways of Dealing with Anger:
Self-Monitoring Anger
Try answering these 6 questions if you feel yourself getting angry.
Note： The above content is adopted from CCN News on 8th November 2021. For further information and assistance, please contact us.
Source: CCN 精彩大马
Published date: 8th November 2021
By Ms. Lee Li Li, Clinical Psychologist
Anger is a completely normal and healthy emotion. But when it gets out of control and turns destructive, it can lead to problems — problems in your personal relationship, your well-being and in the overall quality of your life.
Everyone feels angry from time to time. Anger can lead to positive change if you express it in a useful and constructive way. However, on the down side, too much anger is not good for you. Some people may express their anger in unhelpful ways, like making hurtful comments, breaking laws or causing environmental damage.
Expressing Anger
According to various research conducted by American Psychology Association, "anger varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage. When you get angry, your face turns into red, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones".
"Anger can be caused by both external and internal events. You could be angry at a specific person or a traffic jam, or your anger could be caused by worrying or brooding about your personal problems. Memories of traumatic or enraging events can also trigger angry feelings".
Everyone express anger differently. People usually use both conscious and unconscious processes to deal with their angry feelings. The two basic approaches are expressing and suppressing. "Expressing your angry feelings in an assertive manner to express anger but it doesn't mean being pushy or demanding; it means being respectful of yourself and others."
Controlling Your Anger
"Anger can be suppressed, and then converted or redirected, such as when you hold in your anger, stop thinking about it, and focus on something positive. However, the danger in this type of response is that if it isn't allowed outward expression, your anger can turn inward—on yourself. Anger turned inward may cause emotional disorders, such as anxiety, hypertension, high blood pressure, or depression and other physical problems."
To maintain your physical and mental health, the frequency of getting angry needs to be reduced and you may find better ways to deal with this emotion without suppressing it. For instance, considering effective communication, mediation by a third party, listening to others, breathing techniques and more.
People who are easily angered generally have low tolerance for frustration, or come from families that are disruptive, chaotic, and not skilled at emotional communications. Some people get loud or use shouting to express their feelings when they're angry, while other people get quiet and withdraw themselves from others. People who often get angry "People who get angry easily or often can have a negative impact on their physical health, mental health and social relationships." They are more likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes, low immunity, insomnia and high blood pressure. As their concentration gets affected, they will be more stressed when facing greater stress and they are prone to mental health problems such as depression or anxiety.
Find Someone To Talk
It's unhealthy to suppress your anger, as well as vent your bottled anger to others. Instead, we should find healthy ways to express our emotions, such as talking to someone about your feelings, writing or drawing about what makes you angry, or find a safe space to manage feelings. Besides that, learning how to manage your anger will help to strengthen your relationships, as well as build healthy body and mind.
Ways of Dealing with Anger:
- The internal factors of anger: There are many internal factors of anger, such as physical or mental health conditions, childhood trauma, low self-esteem, etc., which will make a person easy to get angry. Therefore, it is necessary to find out the reasons and deal with anger effectively. If anger stems from a childhood trauma, start by dealing with the trauma. Once the trauma is dealt with, anger can be easily controlled.
- Recognize the early signs of anger: Anger causes a physical reaction in the body, for instance, you may experience a rapid heartbeat, flushed face, tension throughout the body, feeling nausea, etc. When you notice these signs, you can immediately take steps to manage your temper.
- Cognitive restructuring: Explore in depth the thinking pattern before you get angry. Thinking patterns can affect a person's emotional response. It's easier to get angry if you’re are a negative thinker who always feeling being judged, undervalued or threatened by others. Thus, you may deal with your anger by restructuring your thinking pattern.
- Relaxation: Everyone has their own relaxation technique, might as well explore which relaxation method is suitable for you. You can choose breathing, stretching, meditating, drawing, writing, etc.
- Healthy ways to express anger: In addition to relaxation, we must also learn healthy ways to express anger, because it is impossible not to be angry at all. A healthy way to express anger is to focus on the situation rather than the person, to give each other the opportunity to express and listen to each other.
- Take care of yourself: Take good care of yourself, including sleep, diet, exercise, self-relaxation, etc., Stay away from drugs, tobacco and alcohol. Make yourself healthy and use positive energy to manage anger.
- Self-improvement: The pace of modern society is fast and everyone must constantly improve themselves to cope with daily challenges. In addition, chatting with relatives and friends can also express emotion and relieve stress.
- Me-Time and space: If you really feel you need to be alone to arrange your thoughts, prepare the space and time for yourself. These are to time to reflect, review, manage emotions, and can learn how to calmly deal with similar people and things. In addition, it can avoid the same anger when encountering the same situation again.
- Seek professional clinical psychological treatment or counselling services: if all methods have been tried for a period of time (generally about half a year) and anger management has not made any progress, it is necessary to seek professional psychological treatment. Psychologist can help and guide from the side. If medication is necessary, the psychologist will refer a psychiatrist to help the individual deal with his or her emotional problems.
Self-Monitoring Anger
Try answering these 6 questions if you feel yourself getting angry.
- Is it that serious?
- Do I have to be angry?
- Is it worth ruining your day by getting angry about this?
- Do I need to respond or react?
- Is there a more appropriate way to respond or react?
- Is it worth the time to take action in response?
Note： The above content is adopted from CCN News on 8th November 2021. For further information and assistance, please contact us.
Source: CCN 精彩大马
