Tools & Tips To Improve Yourself
10 Ways to Control and Reduce Your Anger
Anger is an important feeling that most people experience at some time or another in their lives. Anger is not always a negative thing. Sometimes anger is justified and can be used to ensure you find a solution and act on it. So, to ensure that you control and reduce but also use anger appropriately, check out these ten tips.
1. Take a Time Out – This is especially important if you find yourself becoming angry around other people or animals. Don’t let it continue. Instead, neutralize it by taking a time out so you can collect your thoughts and approach the issue in a more positive way.
2. Count It Down – Sometimes, all you need to do is count down before you respond. If you’re with someone, take a deep breath and count in your mind, not out loud. Your job is to deescalate not make it worse.
3. Go for A Walk – Burning off anger works too. Get away and walk at a moderate to fast pace for 20 to 30 minutes. Anytime you feel anxiety or anger coming on, burning it off with physical activity is a great way to get it under control.
4. Focus Your Breathing – Have you ever watched a baby breathing in their crib? If not, find a video to watch one. They breathe properly into their diaphragm, and their tummy rises and deflates with each breath. Breathe in through your nose deeply, hold it slightly, and then out of your mouth carefully and slowly.
5. Repeat a Mantra – This really works great if you find that you have parts of your day that are overcome with anger due to work or other situations you have no control over. Find a mantra you can repeat such as “this won’t matter later” or something you prefer so that you can repeat it in your mind or out loud to help pull yourself away from the anger.
6. Have Quiet Time – Quiet time is essential for your brain to be able to reset. If you find a way to have more quiet time each day, at least 20 minutes, you’ll find that your memory is improved, and your emotions are easier to control because you can control your thoughts better.
7. Take Positive Action – Some issues that make you angry need attention in order to help you resolve your anger. If this is one of those cases, when you have control over the outcome, take positive action sooner rather than later.
8. Focus on Gratitude – Every single day, find a way to focus on what you’re grateful for over what you’re angry about. Everyone experiences injustices and situations when they have a right to be angry, all anger is not bad. Anger is how you react to it that will make all the difference.
9. Get Help – If you find that you’re experiencing a situation that you really cannot deal with on your own, find some help. You may need a counselor, a life coach or a minister to help you.
10. Find the Humor -- One of the best cures for anger is laughter. If you can find the humor in the situation, even if you were angry, it will often defuse the situation faster than anything else.
When your anger is justified, find one of the tips that enable you to find a solution first, and use the other tips to help you control your emotions. Anger is not always bad, but you can get the same thing done by focusing on the positive actions you can take to overcome the problem.
