Anger is an emotion, if left unmanaged, can wreak havoc in your life. Learn some tips that will help you to control anger rather than allowing it to control you.
Talking Points:
- The first step to managing anger is cognitive. It’s having the ability to identify the thoughts that feed your anger. The ABC model helps with this. A is the activating event that made you angry. B is for the beliefs you have about what happened and why it bothered you. C stands for the consequences you face based on your response.
- The second step has to do with developing the skills of problem solving. Problem solving helps you to evaluate what went wrong and why, and what can be done to avoid it from happening again.
- The third step is using assertive communication. You need to express your hurt and be able to articulate what you need from the person who offended you.
- The fourth step is about relaxation. Doing things like slowing your breathing, and learning techniques of tensing and relaxing muscles, can go along way in helping you to release stress that builds up over time.
Discussion:
- Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- On a scale from 1-10, how angry of a person are you? What would people close to you say?
- What are the things that tend to get you angry? Identify the underlying issues that feed your anger. How do you typically respond in those situations?
- How can the skill of problem solving help you to avoid angry outburst that only make matters worse?
- Share a time you lost your cool and did damage in how you communicated with someone who hurt you. What do you wish you had done differently? Share a time you showed restraint and could communicate in a productive way. What was the result?
- What are some things you can do to relax more? How can working on relaxation help you to better manage your anger?
- Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?
