Anger Management

What is it like to be angry?

Jim is travelling to work along a busy street, when a car stops in front of his bus. Some time goes by and the traffic lights turn from red to green and back again. Still nothing happens and Jim starts to feel tension rising and a tight feeling in his stomach. He begins to curse the driver in his mind "Stupid, lazy, selfishly holding everyone up, he'll make me late". The feeling builds up, he begins to feel hot. Someone brushes against him by accident, he turns on them, swears and pushes them away roughly

Michelle is feeling tired and she has a headache so she sends the children out of doors to play, telling them not to disturb her. After half an hour, she hears a loud noise and shouting so she goes out to see what is happening. The youngest child is sitting on the path and crying with a small cut on her chin and the older ones are just looking on and doing nothing. She feels relief that nothing more serious appears wrong, and then a sudden surge of fury takes hold. She thinks "why can't they do as they are told" and "why do they always let me down?". She gets more angry and feels a pounding in her head, her legs start to tremble, and things seem to look misty or unreal, as though a curtain has come down. All she can think about is grabbing the nearest of the older children. She thinks "I'll teach you not to do it again"

After University, you go to pick up a newspaper from your local shop. You're waiting to pay when a couple push in front of you as though you weren't there. You try and keep your temper and not say anything, telling yourself it is not worth getting upset about. They take their time, finally as they reach the door, one of them looks back and catches your eye for a few seconds. Then she turns around and says something to her friend and they both laugh as they leave the shop. You feel angry and think "they've made a fool of me" the rest of your day is spoilt, you can't relax, you feel irritable

You may have been in situations like these and had some of the feelings and thoughts which are described. Everyone feels angry at times, and this is often due to life stresses such as money or housing problems or difficulties in relationships. For some people the problem becomes much worse and gets in the way of normal life. Anger becomes a problem when it becomes too strong, happens too often, lasts too long, spoils relationships or work and if in particular if it leads to violence or aggression

How can this guide help me?
You may feel that you can do little to control your anger - but there are things that you can do to make a difference. This guide aims to help you cope with anger. It includes pen and paper exercises in the booklet to help you begin to understand and deal with your anger in practical ways. You should find it helpful to complete these exercises

Understanding anger and its causes

Do I have problems with anger?
If you have a problem with anger you probably already know it, but these are some of the signs that you may have difficulty controlling anger. Place a tick next to those you experience regularly:

If you are regularly experiencing some or all of these signs then you may have a difficulty with anger control. The following sections may help you to tackle this problem

1. What is anger?
Often when we are angry, the main thing that we are aware of is our angry mood. Our mood can vary in strength from a mild irritation to a white hot rage. When it reaches its strongest, it is unlikely that we will be aware of much else. However, when we look for causes of our anger, we most often direct our attention outwards, to events or people in our immediate world or surroundings. For instance, the lazy motorist holding up traffic in the first example at the beginning of this leaflet, the careless children in the second, or the rude behaviour of the people in the shop

The psychological explanation of anger recognises that our mood is a key part of the anger, but it is not the only part. In order to understand the causes of anger better, we need to look at the other parts in a systematic way, and to see how they fit together and influence each other. It is helpful to separate the personal aspects of anger into our mood, thoughts, bodily reactions and impulsive behaviour. The other part we need to consider is the outside world or our surroundings. We need to look at how changes in this affect us, and how we in turn may make changes in our behaviour that affect our environment. The diagram below may help to make sense of this

All of these parts of anger can affect each other and anger can spiral out of control. Angry behaviour can cause an angry response from others. Bodily signs of anger can lead us to feel out of control and this can make our mood worse. Angry 'hot' thoughts can make us feel more enraged

2. What causes anger?
Anger can vary from mild irritation to intense fury and rage. As with all emotion, bodily changes go with it - heart rate goes up, blood pressure goes up as our body is prepared for "fight or flight" (to get away). It can be caused by reacting to things outside us such as other people or events (such as the traffic jam in the first example) or by worrying over our own personal problems. Upsetting memories from the past can lead to angry thoughts and feelings. It is important to note that it is not people or events that make you angry it is your reaction to them that makes you angry

What things tend to trigger your anger?
Outside (people event)
Inside (thoughts, worries, memories)

Some people tend to be more angry than others. Research has shown that they have a low tolerance for frustration. They can't take things in their stride. It may be that some people are naturally more like this from birth, but it may also be that they have not learned to handle anger and to express their feelings in other ways. Some people come from families that are poor at handling emotion and talking, families where levels of anger are high. These people are more likely to have difficulties with anger. Getting very angry is never helpful and the belief that it can make you feel better is not true. Research has found that if you let your anger loose it can get out of control. Being angry means you do not learn to handle the situation. It is best to begin to understand your anger and gain control over it

In summary
Anger affects the way we feel, think and behave. It causes a number of symptoms in our body. It can be caused by our reactions to things happening around us or by our own thoughts and worries. We may be more likely to be angry by nature or may never have learned to control our anger and express our feelings more helpfully

Controlling anger

1. Angry Thoughts
We have seen that thoughts can make us feel angry, but often people who have a problem with anger do not notice these angry thoughts. It is important in trying to gain control over anger, that we begin to recognise and challenge those thoughts

'Hot' thoughts
'Hot thoughts' are angry thoughts that flash into your mind and make you feel worse. People tend to have similar thoughts happening again and again, for example:
"He is so stupid", "You're making a fool of me", "You're selfish", "I want to hurt you", "I hate this place".
These "hot" thoughts are often backed up by ways of negative thinking. It may help you to decide if you are making any of the following thinking errors

Thinking Errors
Taking things personally
People who are angry often take things personally and feel hurt by it. They look for and expect criticism from other people. If for example someone doesn't speak to them in a shop they may feel that person dislikes them, when in fact it may be that he or she is just shy or worried. If someone looks over at them they may think "he thinks I'm stupid", when in fact the person is just glancing over without any such thought

Ignoring the positive
People who get angry tend to focus their thinking on negative or bad events and ignore positive or good events. In the examples at the beginning of the booklet Michelle thought about one small accident that had happened but did not think about the half hour of quiet play before it. This is often a problem for people who get angry with those close to them

Perfectionism
People who become angry often expect too much from themselves or those around them. If these standards are not met, then they feel badly let down and hurt. This hurt becomes anger. For example, Mary has a friend who had agreed to go on holiday with her but let her down at the last minute. Mary felt the friend had failed her and decided that she did not want to see her again. This was despite the fact that the friend was good to her on many other occasions

Black and white thinking
Thinking in black and white, all or nothing terms in common in people who get very angry. This is particularly a problem when it comes to knowing how firm to be with people. For example, John has a friend Paul who had borrowed money from him. John was quite happy to offer this loan and thought, "Paul is a good mate; I know I can trust him". Paul has not offered to repay it after two weeks and John who didn't like to mention it has begun to think ,"He is taking a lend, he thinks I'm a soft touch, an idiot". He becomes angry and the next time he sees Paul he begins to shout and make threats about what he will do if the money is not repaid, immediately. He thinks: "If I don't show him, he'll take me for a ride". It might have been better for both, if John had taken a middle approach and firmly asked Paul to repay the money earlier, rather than saying nothing or becoming very angry in response to the thought "He's taking a lend"

If you find yourself making thinking errors like those mentioned above, it can help to try and think more balanced thoughts. One way of doing this is to write two columns, one for angry thoughts and the other for a more balanced thoughts, eg:

Write down some of your thoughts now and write as many answers or balanced thoughts as you can. The aim is to get faster at catching these "hot thoughts" when they come into your head and answering back straight away. It takes a lot of practice but really does work

Beliefs about anger that can be unhelpful
Some people hold beliefs that make it harder for them to bring their anger under control. The beliefs sometimes excuse anger or make it seem the only response. The beliefs are sometimes held because of life experiences or personal values. People may have lived with these beliefs for so long that they accept them without question, but it is important to question them to help overcome anger

Here are some examples of these unhelpful beliefs and ideas on how to challenge and question them:

I can't control my anger, my father was angry and it is something I inherited from him

This is the idea that anger is something you can't change - it's in your makeup, something you were born with. It is an excuse,that lets you off the hook in terms of controlling your anger. We know that some people are born with tendencies to be more emotional, fearful, angry or sad. The way we react to these emotions however is learned, and we can tackle our own angry behaviour by changing the way we respond to events and people

If I don't let my anger out I'll explode

It has long been a popular belief that some emotions and drives build up, like steam in a pressure cooker and need some way out or else they become harmful. If you hold this point of view losing your temper could be seen as something healthy. But we know from research that people are often left feeling much worse after losing control of anger. Shouting, hitting, slamming doors can all increase and strengthen feelings of anger

If you don't show anger you're either a saint or a wimp

This is an example of black and white thinking. You think that if you're not angry and aggressive then you're a hopeless wimp. But the best way to deal with situations, both for yourself and those around you, is not to be angry and out of control, but to be firm, sure and in control - to be assertive

My anger is something people fear and it stops them taking advantage of me

This belief sees anger as a protector and other people as dangerous. It may be that this belief was correct at a particular time of your life, but if you continue to think this way, it can cause problems. Good friendships are not formed on fear and you will be unlikely to have good friendships and relationships because of your angry behaviour. It is also likely to backfire, where others with problems of anger will see you as threatening and possibly pick fights with you

If I get angry it takes my anxiety away

This belief is often found in people who have been the victims of violence or aggression. It is better to try and tackle your anxiety by other ways rather than exchanging one unpleasant emotion for another. Anxiety can only be overcome by facing what you fear and finding ways of overcoming it

I have good reason to be angry because of things other people have done to me

Anger is a natural reaction when we are mistreated or taken advantage of. But if this anger continues into all areas of your life then it will cause difficulties for you. If the mistreatment took place a long time ago and the people who did it are no longer in your life it may help to ask "where does this anger get me now?"

In summary
We need to look carefully at the angry "hot thoughts" we have and try to see if we are making errors in the way we view situations. It can help to try and have more balanced thoughts. We also need to examine long held beliefs about our anger and challenge those, which are unhelpful. Remember, logic can defeat anger!

2. Controlling the physical symptoms of anger?
Relaxation and calming methods can help to reduce angry feelings. If you are with a partner who also becomes angry it may help if you both learn these relaxation techniques. You need to learn to use the following approaches automatically if you are in a difficult situation

Reducing physical symptoms
In order to reduce the severity of physical symptoms it is useful to "nip them in the bud", by recognising the early signs of tension and anger. Once you have noticed early signs of tension you can prevent anger becoming too severe by using relaxation techniques. Some people can relax through exercise, listening to music, watching TV, or reading a book. Picturing a pleasant scene in your mind can also help. For others it is more helpful to have a set of exercises to follow. Some people might find relaxation or yoga classes most helpful, others find tapes useful. You can obtain a relaxation tape from your GP and there are also a wide number of relaxation tapes available in the shops. Remember relaxation is a skill like any other and takes time to learn. Keep a note of how angry you feel before and after relaxation, rating your anger 1-10

Controlling breathing
It is very common when someone becomes angry for changes to occur in their breathing. They can begin to gulp air, thinking that they are going to suffocate, or can begin to breath really quickly. This is called over-breathing, it has the effect of making them feel dizzy and therefore more tense. It can lead to unpleasant feelings but is not dangerous. Try to recognise if you are doing this and slow your breathing down. Getting into a regular rhythm of "in two-three and out two-three" will soon return your breathing to normal. Some people find it helpful to use the second hand of a watch to time their breathing

3. Controlling angry behaviours
If we look back to the vicious circle of anger on page five, it becomes clear that if we can challenge our angry thoughts and reduce the physical symptoms of anger then we should not get to the point where we begin to behave angrily. No one is perfect however! If we do not manage the previous stages it helps to have ideas on how to tackle the angry behaviours we might normally show. We can do this is three stages:

Stage 1
Be very clear what your angry behaviours are - what comes before them and what happens afterwards. It can help to keep a diary over a short period to help you understand this. For example, Alex continually 'blows his top' in home, work and social situations, he has tried to understand this by keeping a diary of what happens on these occasions, this is what he has found: It is clear from his notes collected over the week that Alex deals with conflict and angry thoughts and feelings by angry behaviours and leaving the situation

Stage 2
Make a list of all the other things you can do instead of behaving angrily
When you have done this choose the best new approach(es) to try in difficult situations. Here is Alex's list as an example

1. Excuse myself and leave the situation for a minute, "I'll be back in a minute", return when calmer
2. Take a deep breath and relax self for a second
3. Ask other person to let me know why they have said something, try and understand them Ask "Why do you want me to let you know when I'll be in?", "Why do you say our section is doing less?"
4. Ask other person to sit down and talk about it. Say, "Let's get a cup of tea and talk about it..."

Alex decided to try and use numbers two and three to tackle the difficult situations

Stage 3
Try to adopt the new behaviour in situation where you feel angry. Keep a diary of how it went

Helpful ideas for changing angry behaviours can be:

• Use a quick relaxation and/or breathing exercise
  
• Timing - if you tend to get angry at certain times when you talk to someone e.g. at night, try and talk to them calmly at different times of the day
  
• If particular things make you angry - it may be you can avoid them, e.g. don't travel to the shops when you know you'll get stuck in traffic for ages. If you hate to sit in when your partner watches sport, plan something else at that time. If you hate his friend don't be around when the friend is there
• Count to ten before responding
  
• Go for a quick walk
  
• Ask yourself at the time "Why is this making me angry?"
  
• Ask yourself at this time, "Is this worth getting angry about?"
  
• Use calming self statements in your head, e.g."calm down", "getting mad won't help", "just forget it"

In summary
In order to control angry behaviours you need to:
Know what your angry behaviours are
Decide what other behaviours make take the place of your angry behaviour
Try out these new behaviours

4. Problem Solving
Sometimes real worries and stress can make us more irritable and angry. A problem solving approach may help in this. A good way to begin is to write down a problem. Described it as clearly as you can, for example "I never have any money", is too vague, something like "I owe £3000 to different credit card companies", is more helpful. Next, write down as many possible solutions are you can. It doesn't matter how silly you may think the solutions are, the point is to think of as many as you can. Try to think how you have solved similar problems in the past. Ask a friend what they might do. Think to yourself what you might advise a friend to do if they had the same problems, e.g. possible solutions:
Get all debts on one loan with less interest. Agree on affordable payments. See a debt counsellor. Get a part time job. Sell car

If you have a problem that may be making you anxious, try writing it. List as many possible solutions as you can. Choose what seems like the best solution and write down all the steps it would take to achieve the solution. Who might help?, what might go wrong?, often it is helpful to think "what is the worst thing that could happen?". If you can think of a plan to cope with this, your anxiety might reduce. If you are trying to come up with a plan to tackle a problem that has been worrying you for some time, it is often helpful to discuss this with a friend or even your doctor

Stressful lifestyle - general tips
Nowadays life is often stressful, and it is easy for pressures to build up. We can't always control the stress that comes from outside but we can find ways to reduce the pressure we put on ourselves:

• Try to identify situations you find stressful by noticing the beginnings of tension
  
• Take steps to tackle what it is about these situations that you find stressful
  
• Make sure you have time for things you enjoy
• Take up a relaxing hobby
• Make sure you get enough sleep
• Eat a well balanced diet
• Take regular exercise
• Learn to relax

5. Communication
We have learned in the section of this book on thinking errors that angry people tend to take things personally and will often jump to conclusions it is therefore important to try and improve communication skills so that misunderstandings that lead to anger are less likely to happen. Here are a few tips on improving communication skills:

• Slow down and listen to the other person - don't rush in and say the first thing that comes to mind
  
• Don't jump to conclusions about what the other person is saying or thinking; ask them to tell you more about what they are trying to say. Don't try to mind-read
  
• If someone is sounding defensive or critical, don't immediately fight back. Try and understand the feelings behind what is being said. It may be that the person feels afraid, hurt or unloved
  
• If you can keep calm and try and find out more about how the other is feeling then a row or fight can be avoided
  
• Try and express or talk about what your feelings really are, rather than going into angry words. Most often what is behind anger is fear, hurt or frustration. Of course you need to try and be clear in your own mind first, why you feel angry

6. Long term beliefs
Sometimes people have long held views about themselves that are very self critical-for example "I'm not a very loveable person" or "I'm not a very clever person". These beliefs are often a product of past experiences, especially if there has been a lot of anger, criticism or violence in our lives. The beliefs hold no truth for the present time and it helps to stop this self-criticism. These beliefs can make you more sensitive and this in turn may lead to anger towards yourself or others. Try not to knock yourself down, look at the good things about yourself not the bad, don't stick with negative beliefs that are there because of unhappy times in your past

In summary
How can I help myself overcome anger and aggression?

• Recognise your angry thoughts and begin to challenge them
  
• Challenge any unhelpful thoughts or beliefs that don't allow you to let go of anger
  
• Use relaxation and other ways to control the physical symptoms of anger
  
• Understand and control angry behaviour, try new calmer actions
  
• Improve communication and problem solving skills
  
• Do not allow yourself to continue with long term critical beliefs about yourself

Where can I get further help?
We hope you will use the exercises suggested in this booklet. They may help you overcome anger and aggression. If you feel you are making little progress or the problem is getting worse then seek help in overcoming your problem. Your family doctor is the best person to talk to first. Your GP may suggest a talking treatment or tablets or both. He or she may suggest you see a mental health worker who can offer expert help with your problems. If you feel so distressed that you have thoughts of harming yourself or you feel you are at risk of harming others, then visit your doctor as soon as possible and explain to him or her how you are feeling

Source: Northumberland Mental Health NHS Trust

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Last revision: April 2011