First, understand that you are not alone! Anger is just an emotion that has stood the test of time, and yes, anger has had its way with many of us. Unfortunately when our anger is not understood, it can come with a huge price tag.
- Self-evaluate – Ask honest questions of yourself. Honest questions can provoke honest answers and facilitate change, i.e.,
- Why am I angry?
- Where did this anger come from?
- Who is making me angry?
- Did their response remind me of a previous time/situation with someone else?
- Anger, like other emotions, places the focus on us. Consequently, we stand out to others as self-centered and attention-seeking. Yes, even our anger will steal the show. Here’s how we can possibly prevent our anger from making its embarrassing debut.
When we feel anger creeping up and trying to overtake us, pause for a moment and breathe deeply, inhaling and exhaling several times. Doing this simple exercise is like food for the brain and can help to prevent a major catastrophe. Understand much of our human responses in life are reactive rather than proactive, so remembering to pause and breathe deeply often can bring you back to the very present moment. - Anger gives us a false sense of reality, meaning our minds can perceive things and actions taken against us as being real, when in fact, our anger is playing tricks on us. At this level of anger, there’s a high chance that some traumatic situations have happened over the course of our lives, i.e., relationships, death, or divorce.
The remedy may not be far off. Start with making a decision to be extremely honest with yourself. Yes, I have also had to do this work. It’s painful, but needed to heal thyself and start living the life you desire to live. - Anger can lead us down a road of depression for the sheer sake of its tendency to isolate us. Anger can also make us feel like we are alone and that no one understands, except that is not the truth. You are not alone!
There is a lot to be said about anger, but it actually starts with us! Communication really is a powerful tool. Why you ask? Because communication can offer an exchange of new information, refreshing to the soul as a cool glass of water. - Forgive yourself and others! Your anger may come from a place of unforgiveness towards yourself and the offenses of others.
The one thing about anger is that it will affect everything that you touch, from employment to relations. Here’s how we can end this frivolous assault! Yes, you guessed it, communication. Talk about the heart of the matter, and understand what is truly at stake if you don’t overcome your anger with understanding.
Finally, your anger knows you better than you know yourself, so pause for a moment and breathe deeply and often, come to your present moment, and talk about the things that are at the heart of the matter for you. Your participation is your freedom.
