I. Importance
Anger causes us to do things that we later regret. Some people become violent
and even kill others, something they normally would not even think of. Anger makes
us unhappy. And it is generally an ineffective way of coping with problems.
II. The Nature of Anger
Anger is tension and hostility as a result of frustration. We respond in different ways at different ages. When a baby, we cry or scream. As children, it may be a tantrum
or fighting, or surliness. As we grow older, we normally react through verbal
expressions: arguing, criticizing, swearing. Or the person may become violent and
aggressive. On the other hand, the person may have grown up learning to suppress anger, but at the same time not learn how to cope with problems, and hence tend
to be ineffective in confronting difficult situations. Both these extremes are not
wholesome. Aggressive release of anger as well as its suppression are not the most effective ways of dealing with a problem. Remember: the way we cope with
problems and the way we express our anger are learned. There are effective and ineffective ways. If you have learned an ineffective way, you can relearn a better way.
III. Effects of Anger
·It destroys relationship
·It can lead to violence.
·It leads to high blood pressure.
·Its suppression can lead to psychosomatic disorders.
·It can create more problems as it tries to solve existing ones.
IV. A Ten-Step Program on Anger Management
Accept that most things in the world are out of your control.
Accept that it is your choice to get angry about those things.
No one makes you angry.
Life is unfair. Waste no energy lamenting or trying to change that fact.
No one likes to be around an angry person. No one feels like helping an angry
person.
So why be angry? Maybe you really don't want your problems solved. Maybe you
just want to complain and wail and gnash your teeth.
Take stock of yourself. What do you want?
You should smile more. Your face won't break.
Anger is a weed; hate is the tree. -St. Augustine
Anger makes a rich man hated and a poor man scorned. -Thomas Fuller
"In the depth of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible
summer." -Albert Camus
Compiled by David A. Willson
