We all get angry. It doesn't matter how many yoga classes you take or how much pot you smoke, things are going to get under your skin. We can all learn how to handle our outbursts better. A friend of mine recently needed to go through a four-session anger management program in order to get his season tickets to a certain NFL team back. He'd been kicked out by security one too many times. These are the highlights of what he learned, so you don't have to wait until a judge orders you to do so.
The Vicious Circle
![Anger Management Tips and Tricks, Stress Management Tips]()
There are four major components of anger that can escalate a situation. The inner world consists of thoughts that trigger strong emotions or hot thoughts. This is any thought you have that makes you upset with someone. For example, "Why is our quarterback so stupid?" Mood is the next part that can add irritability. For example, your team has been losing all season, or for multiple seasons, and now you just wake up on Sundays already cranky. Bodily systems is the next piece of the mad pie. Hearts start racing, temperatures flair and it suddenly gets harder to breathe. The fourth component is the inclination to act on the other three. Behavior transpires to arguments, attacks, running away, and even crying fits.
Recognizing these escalating stages is a great way to chill out and stop the cycle.
The Thinking Error
![Anger Management Tips and Tricks, Stress Management Tips, it's them not you]()
A major fault for people with anger problems is taking everything personally, like your favorite team is losing just to specifically ruin your week. The classic way to spot a person like that is one who always thinks people are sizing them up, challenging them, or humiliating them. These people always ignore the positive, tend to think in black-and-white terms, or want everything to be perfect.
Breathing Leads to World Peace
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You will be hard pressed not to find breathing exercises in any anger management course. So much of the coping advice out there is about taking a step back and taking some deep inhales. Aside from retreating, getting a massage, or meditating, breathing seems to be the cure all.
The Self-Proclaimed A-Hole
![Anger Management Tips and Tricks, Stress Management Tips]()
A lot of rage issues come from people's beliefs of themselves. Ever heard a guy say something like, "I know I'm hard to deal with, but it's who I am." That person almost always ends up making good on that belief and makes you try to avoid them in the hallways. It's because they hold on to past experiences that made them jerks, rather than let go.
People who do better in anger courses are ones that can let the past go and focus on being a more positive moving forward.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
![Anger Management Tips and Tricks, Stress Management Tips, laughing, laughter]()
The coolest people aren't that way because nothing bad ever happens to them or their sports teams -- even the New England Patriots lose games. Those people just don't let the bad crap get to them. They just laugh it off. While you might not ever see someone like team head coach Bill Belichick outwardly laugh, you can bet your ass he's laughing at all of us on the inside.
The next time someone tries to rile you up, just laugh at them. You'll never be sent to a "laughing management" course.
Stress is the Scapegoat
![Anger Management Tips and Tricks, Stress Management Tips]()
Anger management course materials also focus on stress and stress management. So much so, that you'd think the anger management course was actually "stress management" in disguise. For most people, especially men, stress and anger follow each other as naturally as one fireball shot follows another. If you notice that little things like bad punts and losing coin-flips are making you angrier than normal, it's time to reduce your stress level by doing whatever makes you feel better: hiking, strip clubs, screaming at the fathead of your team's star player, whatever. You know yourself best. No judgment.
Related: How a Guy Reduces Stress and Calms The Nerves
The Vicious Circle
There are four major components of anger that can escalate a situation. The inner world consists of thoughts that trigger strong emotions or hot thoughts. This is any thought you have that makes you upset with someone. For example, "Why is our quarterback so stupid?" Mood is the next part that can add irritability. For example, your team has been losing all season, or for multiple seasons, and now you just wake up on Sundays already cranky. Bodily systems is the next piece of the mad pie. Hearts start racing, temperatures flair and it suddenly gets harder to breathe. The fourth component is the inclination to act on the other three. Behavior transpires to arguments, attacks, running away, and even crying fits.
Recognizing these escalating stages is a great way to chill out and stop the cycle.
The Thinking Error
A major fault for people with anger problems is taking everything personally, like your favorite team is losing just to specifically ruin your week. The classic way to spot a person like that is one who always thinks people are sizing them up, challenging them, or humiliating them. These people always ignore the positive, tend to think in black-and-white terms, or want everything to be perfect.
Breathing Leads to World Peace
You will be hard pressed not to find breathing exercises in any anger management course. So much of the coping advice out there is about taking a step back and taking some deep inhales. Aside from retreating, getting a massage, or meditating, breathing seems to be the cure all.
The Self-Proclaimed A-Hole
A lot of rage issues come from people's beliefs of themselves. Ever heard a guy say something like, "I know I'm hard to deal with, but it's who I am." That person almost always ends up making good on that belief and makes you try to avoid them in the hallways. It's because they hold on to past experiences that made them jerks, rather than let go.
People who do better in anger courses are ones that can let the past go and focus on being a more positive moving forward.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
The coolest people aren't that way because nothing bad ever happens to them or their sports teams -- even the New England Patriots lose games. Those people just don't let the bad crap get to them. They just laugh it off. While you might not ever see someone like team head coach Bill Belichick outwardly laugh, you can bet your ass he's laughing at all of us on the inside.
The next time someone tries to rile you up, just laugh at them. You'll never be sent to a "laughing management" course.
Stress is the Scapegoat
Anger management course materials also focus on stress and stress management. So much so, that you'd think the anger management course was actually "stress management" in disguise. For most people, especially men, stress and anger follow each other as naturally as one fireball shot follows another. If you notice that little things like bad punts and losing coin-flips are making you angrier than normal, it's time to reduce your stress level by doing whatever makes you feel better: hiking, strip clubs, screaming at the fathead of your team's star player, whatever. You know yourself best. No judgment.
Related: How a Guy Reduces Stress and Calms The Nerves