A delayed flight, finding out you’ve been lied to or betrayed, can be a cause of anger. Anger is a normal emotion and sometimes you should be angry. Anger can be a signal that cues self-protection and is appropriate as a reaction to something that should not be as it is, or to express displeasure against a perceived injustice or wrongdoing. Your emotional system is simply doing it’s job reminding you to protect yourself or find a solution.
Anger can also be a dangerous emotion as there are unhealthy and inappropriate ways to express anger such as:
Violence. A person can strike out from anger when it escalates into rage fueled by adrenaline.
Suppressing. Stuffing it down, turns emotion inward and can lead to anxiety and depression along with a variety of physical health issues.
Passive-aggressive behavior. Results from not wanting to, or being unable to confront feelings of anger and instead resorting to under-handedly sabotaging the source of one’s anger.
Getting revenge. This is a miserable way to live as it puts a person in an emotional jail.
Let go of unhealthy anger by:
- Understanding you can’t control the choices of others. You can only control what you do in response to their behaviors.
- Use positive and productive thoughts. Try deep breathing and repeating a calm word to soothe angry thoughts.
- Assert yourself and express your needs, feelings and preferences in a concise way without blowing up.
- Seek the support of others to talk through your feelings.
- Exercise to burn off extra tension and reduce stress that can fuel angry outbursts.
You can make changes to the way angry feelings affect you and the ways in which you respond.
“Anger is one letter short of danger.” Eleanor Roosevelt