While anger is a valid emotion and natural to feel, when anger takes over and we lose control this can lead to challenges in our personal and professional lives, impacting our emotional wellbeing. However, there are techniques to manage our anger so that we can feel in control of our emotions. Anger management strategies can be extremely helpful in managing and reducing feelings of anger. Anger management strategies include learning how to recognize what anger looks like in ourselves, how to reduce feelings of anger, stepping back and reflecting on our anger before acting on it, understanding the triggers that cause us to feel angry, and how to utilize anger in healthy ways.

In order to learn all of these strategies, we must first understand the symptoms of anger, so that we know when we are truly experiencing anger. So what are the signs and symptoms to look for?

Feelings of nausea
Shaking
Sweating
Hot/cold flashes
Feelings of rage
Feelings of sadness or hurt
Feelings of anxiety or fear
Feeling threatened
An urge to frighten another person
An urge to make loud noises
Faster heart rate
Increased breathing
Tension in your body
Difficulty sitting still
Urge to hit or break something
Clenching teeth, jaw, or fists

Start to notice when you have these symptoms. What is happening around you? What are you thinking about? Recognizing these symptoms is the first step to understanding your anger. Upon understanding your anger you can then learn to identify triggers to your anger and how to cope in those situations.

Click here for additional tools and techniques in identifying and coping with anger.