We all get mad. Sometimes anger can be a good thing, it can stop you from being in a dangerous situation, or encourage you to make necessary changes in your life. What matters is how we act on our anger, what we do with it.
Dealing with people when you are very angry, or when they are, can be a dangerous situation, and it is very toxic to your system. Keeping anger in can result in high blood pressure, anxiety, and stress, and stress builds up your cortisol levels, a toxic effect to the body.
I myself have a quick temper, I get mad, I let it out, it’s over, and I don’t hold grudges, sometimes I inadvertently say hurtful things, and I do not like that about myself. I work on it.
So what to do? It’s inevitable that sooner or later you will get angry, so how do you handle it? I am using some of the most common ideas from the post about this on Facebook, as well as some of my own, and some from other people, I hope it’s a good mix!
1. Prayer: Prayer is by far the most common answer, I am a huge advocate of praying and/or meditating in all situations, good and bad.
2. Deep Breathing: Always helpful, for any stressful situation, concentrating on your breathing puts your mind someplace else for a minute. I close my eyes and breathe in for a count of 5, hold it for 2-3, and release slowly to count of 7.
3. Counting to Ten: I have tried this, when I am really stressed it’s not enough, I remember when my kids were little going into the bathroom and saying the alphabet backwards, it requires more concentration therefore dissipates anger more effectively.
4. Leave the Situation: Always good advice, go for a walk, a run, to the gym, into another room and clean it, mad cleaning is always nice, gets everything sparkly clean and works out anger.
5. Cooking: Cooking can be very therapeutic, beating eggs, kneading bread, beating batter by hand or smashing potatoes… I don’t recommend chopping with knives, likely to slice a finger!
6. Punching something, or Someone: I don’t recommend this, violence as a reaction to anger is a bad habit, also dangerous, I had one friend who screamed into a pillow, she found that worked for her, I also had a friend that threw eggs at trees, said the protein was good for the roots. I think if you can challenge your anger into a non-violent outlet you will be the better person for it.
7. Crying/Screaming: I cry when I get frustrated, mad, or have my feelings hurt, it doesn’t hurt anyone, but it’s not helpful either. I work on it, if I am overly weepy I often figure I am overly tired and take a nap, when I wake up the world is beautiful again.
I hope this helps a little, and I hope we can all turn our anger into a positive force for good. Stay strong!
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