What are anger issues and its causes?

You may go through times in your life when you feel angry or have an angry outburst because something has gone wrong. This response is natural as anger is a basic human emotion. However, if you begin to feel like you are unable to manage or control your anger, or maybe you’ve been keeping feelings of anger inside that are now having an effect on other areas of your life, then it may be possible that your anger may be an issue.

Issues with anger can be caused by many things, including:

• Bottling up your emotions inside
• Childhood experiences
• Family or relationship problems
• Death of a loved one
• Unemployment

When is anger a problem?

If you are experiencing anger issues you may find that you:

• Hit people when you become angry
• Shout abuse and make rude comments to people
• Feel like you are losing control during an angry episode
• Damage things when you become angry
• Have low self-esteem and self-worth
• Feel embarrassed and confused after an angry outburst
• Regret your behaviour
• Get upset about things that don’t usually bother you

How to manage your anger

Properly channelled anger can be important and useful. Sometimes it can be a creative emotion to help you express yourself.

• Step away from the situation which is causing you to feel angry – leave the room, go for a walk outdoors
• If you have pent up frustration that has nowhere to go,
  let off some steam by getting active: go for a brisk walk, lift weights at the gym, go for a jog.
• Talk to someone outside of the situation so you can explore what is making you feel angry. A different perspective might help you think about the situation differently
• Distract yourself with an activity that allows you to express yourself in a different way: write your thoughts down – this can be unrelated to the situation, or paint
  or draw.
• Think about the things which can put you in a calming mood right away. This might be a photo, a scent you like or something you can eat (chocolate) or drink (hot chocolate).
  This could also a be calling/speaking to a person who has a calming effect on you and who would listen to you without judgment
• Guided meditations can bring some calm and take your attention away from your thoughts.
• If you have experienced an angry outburst, once you are calmer, have a think about what the trigger was, and think about what you could do differently the next time you face it. Planning in advance for those situations can help you be more in control of how you express your emotions in challenging circumstances.