Anger is a natural human emotion, but it doesn’t have to rule our lives. Here are some tips to help you reduce your anger today.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your anger is getting the better of you? An incident where you’re yelling, screaming, and spewing verbal poison all over whoever is unlucky enough to be near you? Anger is a natural, normal human emotion, but that doesn’t mean that we can vent our anger without thought or care for those around us.

In fact, the apostle Paul cautions us in Ephesians 4:26 to “be angry, and yet do not sin” (NASB). He readily acknowledges that we are going to get angry; it’s what we choose to do with that anger, how we choose to handle that emotion, that truly matters.

We’ve all heard the phrase “reduce, reuse, and recycle” associated with the “going green” movement over the past couple of decades. The idea is not only to recycle more of our trash, but also to decrease the number of items that enter the waste stream.

We can apply the first step of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” slogan to our mounting anger. Instead of becoming even more emotional and allowing our anger to escalate, we want to find ways to control the intensity of our anger, to reduce it. We want to learn how to contain our feelings, so we can reduce the number of times we “lose it.”

Here are a few strategies that may help you reduce your anger when those feelings come roaring to the surface:

How to Reduce Your Anger

Hit Pause

Before you let loose with a barrage of angry words, hit an imaginary pause button, take several deep breaths, and count to 10. Taking a moment to stop, pray and think enables us to consider our response rather than immediately lashing out.

Monitor Your Thoughts

Pay attention to what you say to yourself because some thoughts are anger-provoking. Ask, “What am I thinking that makes me feel this way?” If you realize you are repeating something to yourself that ignites your rage, reframe the thought into something positive to help douse your fury.

Remember Successful Strategies

When tension rises, think about times when you were angry but didn’t explode or do something regrettable. If you’re having trouble thinking of a time when you maintained your cool, here are some ideas to help you blow off steam safely: run around the block, lift weights, beat a pillow, hoe the garden, mow the grass, or whatever positive activity gets your heart pumping and shifts your thoughts.

Identify Who or What Drives You Crazy

No matter how great a day you’re having or how good your mood is, there may be one person or situation that can quickly sour your disposition. Being aware of our triggers can put us on the path to reacting differently to them. Whether we learn to accept things as they are or change our responses to them, we are taking the responsibility to minimize the intensity of our anger and lessen any subsequent fallout.

Once we’ve used these strategies to successfully reduce our anger, we can move on to recycling our anger. Stay tuned for part 2 of this series on appropriately handling our anger!

Warmly,

Georgia

P.S. – If you’re struggling with uncontrolled anger, don’t forget to reach out for help. Life coaching can help less severe cases – and I’d love to work with you 1-on-1. For more intense anger struggles, I always recommend counseling, and I’m happy to help you find a therapist. Please schedule a complimentary discovery call to see which approach is most appropriate for your situation.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

~ James 1: 19-20 ~

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