Everybody does it but no one wants to talk about it. I’m referring to the fact that we all get angry sometimes.  Our parents raised us to believe it was wrong to get angry. Anger, in and of itself, is not wrong. However, incorrect handling of our anger can often be harmful to ourselves and others around us, especially when there are blunt objects, sharp pointy things or explosives involved.

Angry feelings often manifest themselves in many forms: annoyance, bitterness, frustration, impatience, and sometimes in full-blown temper tantrums that some often refer to as “road rage without the car”.

But the fact is, anger is one of the most common human emotions. It’s normal to feel angry sometimes. We may become angry when someone treats us in a disrespectful manner, or when our checkbook doesn’t balance or whenever someone slaps us across the mouth with a dead trout.

It’s simply a matter of how we handle this anger that determines whether we should attempt to live among society or move to a cave and eat wild berries and write books.

Anger causes physical and emotional changes in our bodies. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure becomes elevated, our teeth clench and our bodies become tense. This could explain the reason some people are referred to as “a pain in the neck”. Much like a pressure pot, we must have a release valve to safely let off the steam or we will eventually flip our lids. Which is another expression often used to describe someone who has flown into a rage.

By now you’re probably asking the question: “What is the best way to express my anger,” to which I will be happy to provide an answer when I have had more time to complete the research. For the time being you can try these few simple exercises and see if they are beneficial to your anger management.

1. When you feel yourself becoming angry take a long deep breath. But don’t forget to exhale. It was reported that when one individual forgot to exhale he became so puffed up he was lifted off the ground by a strong wind and much like the Goodyear Blimp traveled across several states before he plummeted to the ground on the outskirts of Idaho. He wasn’t angry anymore but he suffered severe emotional trauma and now he refuses to breathe.

2. Count to ten. If you can’t count that far you can always use your fingers to keep track. But once again this isn’t without consequences. One man had lost a finger in an industrial accident and he was only able to count to nine. Needless to say, this wasn’t far enough and he exploded into a rage and spat tobacco juice into the other person’s eye. When we last heard, the victim was doing well, but his doctors say he will not leave the house without his protective eye-wear.

3. Never under any circumstances, use the word “stupid” no matter how angry you  become. The word stupid can cause you to be grounded for two weeks, your television privileges revoked and you may not be allowed to play video games for at least six months. I know this is true because it happened to my grandson the other day when my daughter overheard him refer to his sister as a “stupid jerk”.

4. And finally you can try number 4, which is by far the best exercise and carries the least threat of extenuating circumstances and unnecessary injury: Just suck it up and get over it.  And avoid anyone carrying dead fish.

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Tags: anger management, road rage, temper