Hey Lifted Family,
Did you miss our anger management tips during March Madness. Well, don’t get mad about it. Here’s a quick recap of what we discussed. We will break the recap down into weeks. Week 1, we focused on understanding anger. Week 2, we focused on the physical signs of anger and during week 3, we ended by listing a few coping skills for managing anger.
Did you know that people that react negatively to anger are 9% more likely to have a heart attack? Maybe 9% doesn’t sound like a lot but think about a heart attack, even 2% is too much! Learning how to identify, manage and control our reactions to anger can help us feel more peaceful and more in control of our lives.
Understanding Anger
It’s important to note that anger is not good or bad. Anger is a common emotion usually caused by a real or imagined threat. There are upsides to anger, feeling the emption of anger can let you know that you need to evaluate a relationship or situation to make changes. Anger can let you know that you are in danger. While anger itself is not bad, the way you express that anger could be. If you yell at others and curse people out when you are angry, that is a negative reaction. Positive reactions to anger could be writing, journaling, talking with someone you trust, meditation and/or (but not limited to) taking a walk.
Physical Signs of Anger
Anger feels differently to everyone. Some of us may start shaking when we get angry. Others get physically hot and some of us may shut down completely. A few ways that you may begin to notice anger in your body are tension in certain areas, increased beating of the heart, shaking, pacing and/or headaches. A few ways to soothe or bodies during these moments are meditation, stretching, progressive muscle relaxation or getting rest.
Coping skills for Anger
We all need ways to cope. Coping skills help us manage painful situations and emotions. A few ways to cope with anger include writing it out, deep breathing and self-care activities like going to a spa, working out. It is very important that we put our anger into context, by writing out what is making you angry, that can help you identify your triggers. SIDE NOTE: There is nothing wring with having triggers, we all have something – the problem is not knowing what your triggers are. When you haven’t identified your triggers, you could be allowing yourself to stay in stressful situations because you don’t know why you’re shaking, yet if you’ve identified your triggers and how you respond to anger, you know that shaking means you’re getting upset and you can remove yourself. Deep breathing slows down your heart rate and can make you feel calmer and at peace.
Hopefully our March Madness conversation helped you understand anger more, identify some physical signs of anger and develop new ways to cope with anger management. Share this post on your social media channels to spread the information with those you love and care about! As always, keep your head up and your spirit lifted.