ANGER
Anger is an intense emotional state involving feelings that can make you very uncomfortable, and can lead to destruction of yourself, others, and property. If left unchecked, people live with deep feelings of anger, often leading to significant unhappiness. Anger is a reaction from primal parts of our brain due to perceived threat, provocation, hurt, or threat to our wellbeing.
Anger is a normal and sometimes healthy reaction, and one that must be identified, acknowledged, accepted, and acted upon. If you ignore feelings of anger and push them to the side, they build up, fester, and end up coming back worse than before.
How a person handles anger is typically a clear indicator to their overall mental health, and one that can be improved upon with therapy. Sometimes caused by mental health disorders, anger can impact your decision making causing a person to be impulsive and reactionary. When you notice feelings of anger, that is a cue to slow down, stop what you are doing, and process it. Identify it, acknowledge it, accept it, and work on calming your body down in those moments.
Therapy helps by teaching the person how to process their anger, reducing it’s impact on functioning, and using mindfulness to calm the body.