Anger Management

Are you experiencing the following?

• Overwhelming sense of anger (even at small transgressions)
• Becoming enraged
• Feelings of guilt after an anger outburst
• Difficulty concentrating
• Difficulty maintaining eye contact with the person in which you are angry
• Feelings of adrenaline
• Chest pains
• Tingling limbs
• Upper body and/or face feeling hot
• Turning red or developing a rash when angered
• Use of violent language with anger (especially if this is out of character for your usual communication style)
• Faster breathing
• Feelings of tension around the neck or shoulder
• Thoughts that people are against you or out to get you
• Blaming others for your anger or outbursts

Anger is a normal part of the human experience. In fact, anger is one of our more basic emotions. Serving the purpose of self-preservation, anger is one way our survival instincts are activated. Unfortunately, many people experience anger to an intense degree, causing difficulty and strife in their daily activities and interpersonal relationships.

Having outbursts that inflict emotional pain, and in extreme cases physical pain, for those around us is one way to know that our anger has gotten out of hand. Too often, anger can turn hurtful not only to others but to those experiencing the powerful emotion as well. Damaging relationships that were once held in high esteem, developing paranoia, expecting the worst, and a self-imposed hatred are all effects of poor anger management.

There are a variety of ways that anger issues originate. Some inherited a short temper where their personalities are always leaning towards tantrums and fits of anger. Others learned their anger response from friends or family members. Watching your parents fly off into a rage when upset, seeing them throw or punch things, and growing up fearing their “wrath,” can all be contributing factors to your current anger issues.

In contrast, many people grow up in homes where anger is not allowed to be expressed. In these families being angry is “inappropriate” and thus their is no way to learn healthy anger management techniques. In the absence of a positive anger outlet, individuals deny their anger by holding it inside of themselves. This reaction leads to overreacting or exploding when pushed to the limit.

Therapists at Noyau Wellness Center work with clients who are experiencing difficulty managing their anger in a variety of ways. Anger management techniques begin by helping you pinpoint and understand triggers that spark irrational anger. Your therapist will help you process why these situations are so difficult for you to maintain control and how to respond when faced with a known trigger.

Recognizing the early physical signs of anger and rage is another technique that your therapist will help you implement. Signals that you are becoming excessively angry include: increased heart rate, increased breathing, tingling in the extremities, feeling hot in localized areas of the body, tension in the neck and shoulder area, and difficulty maintaing eye contact with the subject of your anger. The mind/body connection is a very important feature of learning to control your anger. Listening to the physical signs that your body is sending you can help you avoid outbursts, allowing an opportunity to practice the relaxation techniques that you and your therapist have developed.

Additionally you and your therapist will collaborate on methods of reframing your thinking to include more positive messages. Along with reframing, your therapist will work with you on how to calm these intense emotions should they arise with various relaxation techniques. Not all relaxation techniques will fit you perfectly. Through exploration and a willingness to change, you will discover the methods that work best for you. At Noyau, we see each client as a unique individual, and we strive to create personally customized treatments. Along side our experts, you can regain control over your anger and begin the satisfying life you are seeking.