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Anger

Anger is one of many emotions that we all experience. It is perfectly normal to feel angry about something that has happened. However anger can become a problem when you express it through unhelpful behaviour towards yourself or others. This can look like:

Hitting or psychically hurting others

Losing control
Breaking things
Shouting at people
Getting into trouble at school

Anger can also present internally in our minds, this can look like:

Negative self-talk such as “I always forget”, “I’m rubbish at this”
Low self-esteem

Reasons for feeling angry

Everyone feels angry sometimes for reasons such as:

Feeling powerless or frustrated
Feeling misunderstood
Feeling confused about sexuality
Falling out with friends
Problems at home or school

What happens to our bodies when we feel angry?

We notice differences in our bodies as they sync with our thoughts when we get angry, some things that happen to our bodies are:

Fast heart beat
Sweating
Muscle tension
Red face
Sore head

Coping with anger

While being angry can sometimes feel overwhelming, there are things you can try to help bring the feeling down to a manageable level, such as:

Remove yourself from the situation
Count to 10 before reacting to anything
Keep an anger diary: capture your thoughts and feelings, what made you angry? What did you do after you felt that way? How did you react? Is there a different way you could have reacted? Writing your thoughts down will help you reflect on the situation and also help you recognise what is triggering angry outbursts
Eat some food you like
Talk to someone you trust about how you are feeling
Go to a safe space
Listen to music