Anger Management (14 hr) Class

The aim of anger management in Class 14H is not to suppress feelings of anger but rather to understand the message behind the emotion and express it in a healthy way without losing control.

Anger itself isn’t a problem — it’s how you handle it. Consider the nature of anger, as well as how to manage anger and what to do when you’re confronted by someone whose anger is out of control, which is why understanding anger is so vital.

The instinctive, natural way to express anger is to respond aggressively. Anger is a natural, adaptive response to threats; it inspires powerful, often aggressive, feelings and behaviors, which allow us to fight and to defend ourselves when we are attacked. A certain amount of anger, therefore, is necessary to our survival. On the other hand, we can’t physically lash out at every person or object that irritates or annoys us; laws, social norms, and common sense place limits on how far our anger can take us.

Anger comes in many levels, from mild to extreme.  We get into trouble when we don’t recognize anger at the mild levels, when we react to everything as if it were at the extreme level, and when our anger goes on and on.  Many of us don’t recognize our anger at the lower levels and only respond as if all situations were extreme.  This exercise is designed to help you begin to recognize the different levels of your anger, and to begin to develop healthy responses to each level.

The more you understand about your anger, the more you can grow, the more you can have the people and things in your life that you want, and the more satisfaction you can have in your life.  Good anger can motivate us and can become a source of creative energy.  Unhealthy anger can create physical pain, illnesses, and emotional problems, hurt our self-esteem, create work problems, relationship problems, and lead to violence.

One of the reasons it is important to know how to deal with angry people is because anger is contagious and being around angry people has the potential of bringing out anger responses in you. The most important thing to remember in dealing with angry people is that you can’t change them-You can only change your response to them.

Remember!! no one can make you mad.  You make the choice to be angry.  It is easy to become angry when another person is angry-anger tends to be contagious.  Use the information you have put on this page to guide you in learning how to deal with angry or unpleasant people without becoming angry or unpleasant yourself.

As a closure, I want you to have the following gift.  Practicing these 7 simple steps will have an enormous impact on helping you with the management of your anger and developing a happier and stronger life.  Good luck!!!