Cooling Down: Helpful Tips to Manage Anger
Cooling Down: Helpful Tips to Manage Anger
We all get upset from time to time. Someone may cut us off in traffic, we may drop and break a dish, or our significant other may forget to pick something important up from the store before it closes. Whatever the case may be, it’s okay to feel upset from time to time. With that said, how you handle and express your feelings matters.
Anger can be a difficult emotion to navigate, and it can be both outwardly and inwardly destructive if not properly handled. The last thing you want is to yell at your loved one or raise your blood pressure.
Below are some tips for helping you both in the moment and before you get angry to help you to manage your anger.
5 Tips to Manage Anger
If you are looking to protect your relationships, health, and walls/objects, consider these tips for anger management:
1. Breathe Deeply
Once you start to feel the anger boiling up, take a moment, step back, and take deep breaths. Breathe in, count to ten slowly, hold for a few seconds, then breathe out slowly. Allow your body to relax, and even visualize yourself breathing the anger out and breathing peace in.
2. Mindfulness
Along with deep breaths comes mindfulness. Take a moment to root yourself in the present. Consider what’s around you. Listen to the rain outside, look at the patterns of your wallpaper…just be mindful and present. With that said, don’t sit in your anger. Be mindful of other things around you that provide you with positive or neutral feelings.
3. Sensory Items
If you have a sensory items box, now is a good time to use it! If not, find some items you can enjoy with your senses. Light a candle, pet your cat or dog, wrap yourself in a warm blanket, listen to some soothing music—use your senses to bring you into the present and calm you down.
4. Consider Your Triggers
Before you even get upset, consider your triggers. If you know that going to a certain place or speaking to certain people will trigger you, avoid those places and people. If the news makes you angry, don’t watch it. If you don’t like the way a person makes you feel, have a talk with them or cut off the relationship.
This doesn’t mean you should lock yourself in your house and never be exposed to your triggers—it simply means you should avoid triggers that are within your control to avoid.
5. Cut Down on Drinking
Drinking can contribute greatly to your anger. If you are an “angry drunk” or you are using drinking to calm yourself down, you should consider cutting down on your drinking. Using alcohol to control your emotions can be problematic and can actually make your problems worse. If you are having trouble cutting down, you may need to seek professional support.
Professional Sobriety Support
Emotional regulation can be extremely difficult in sobriety, especially without the help of trained professionals. If you need additional support with your anger and your overall recovery, reach out to Front Door Health.
Front Door Health provides judgment-free in-home treatment for patients when they need it. We take an evidence-based approach to treatment, and we create custom treatment plans for our patients to increase their chances of success. Our treatment process is client-focused and individualized. This means no group sessions with strangers and no “treatment as usual” approach. You are unique and the treatment plan we create for you is designed to meet you where you are along your journey and help you to reach your recovery goals.
We understand that it can be difficult to put your life on hold and take time off work. Our in-home treatment allows you to continue to meet your work, school, family, and other obligations while receiving the treatment you deserve.
If you would like to learn more about in-home treatment, contact Front Door Health today. We’re happy to answer any questions and provide you with the help you need.
info@frontdoorhealthcenter.com
