What is anger? Anger is a normal reaction and emotion. It can be helpful as it motivates us to do something to right a wrong but it can also lead us into problems if not channelled the right way. Anger is a natural response when we feel threatened, attacked, frustrated or treated unfairly. Anger is not always a “bad” emotion. Helpful anger can: Help us identify things that are hurting us or causing problems Motivate us to change things Help us defend ourselves in danger
Types of anger: Outward aggression Shouting or swearing Hitting, punching, or kicking
Making threats Inward aggression
Hatred towards yourself Self-harming behaviours Passive-aggression Non-violent behaviour such as ignoring people Refusal to do tasks or doing things deliberately badly Sulking or sarcasm Physical symptoms of anger Heart beating fast and breathing quickly Tensing muscles, clenching jaw or fists Tapping feet, getting restless Lump in throat Shaking or sweating Narrowed vision By recognising these early, you can learn to calm yourself down before getting aggressive. Make a note of your own to help recognise when you are feeling angry.
Unhelpful anger can cause problems by: Creating destructive or unhelpful behaviours Having a negative impact on your mental and/or physical health Hurting or upsetting others around you Anger arises from how we interpret certain situations. Everyone has different triggers of feeling angry. Some triggers include feeling: Threatened or attacked Frustrated Not being able to control the situation How we interpret these situations and react to them can be changed so we don’t get angry.
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