Controlling Yourself When Angry

Harming yourself or others in the grip of anger is not bravery; the real bravery is being able to control and restrain yourself in moments of intense anger. Like sorrow, love, and joy, anger is a normal emotion. But when its expression is no longer socially acceptable, we say the anger has gone out of control. Getting angry is not abnormal — it is natural. Anger is one of the four basic human emotions, so no one can simply remove anger from their life. What then? The answer is control — controlling the expression of anger. Anger disrupts our professional, social, and family life, causes financial loss, and can even destroy beautiful relationships. Let us learn how to make life better by controlling anger.

• When you feel angry, the first thing to do is leave the place, go somewhere else. This calms the anger rather than letting it grow.
• Take a long breath, hold it for a moment, then release it slowly. Do this a few times.
• Once the anger has eased a little, reconsider the incident and think about it positively.
• Try to forgive — this reduces anger considerably.
• You know best which topics or situations make you angry; avoid those situations in advance so that anger does not build up in the first place.
• If you are extremely angry and nothing works, and you have an ice cube at home, hold it in your palm for a while, switching hands until the anger subsides. If there is no ice cube, splash cold water on your face. But always take your own physical condition into account.