
Anger is a feeling that is created when an individual perceives a threat to their well being. For example, we tend to feel anger when we believe we have been wronged, ignored, embarrassed, or hurt (physically or emotionally). It is important to identify the feelings and thoughts we experience just prior to feeling angry in order to reduce the negative effects of anger upon those we care about.                                                                    Anger is known to be a secondary emotion. It is born from a primary emotion such as pain, fear, embarrassment, etc. It is crucial that we examine and address our primary emotions in order to ensure we are communicating effectively, rather than reacting negatively.                                                                    Thoughts create the emotions we feel. All of our emotions stem from a thought- for example: if I think to myself “nobody likes me”, then I will experience feelings of sadness. We may find it helpful to reverse our steps from the feeling of anger in order to discover the initial thought. For example: I felt                                                         angry                                                     when that person cut me off because I felt                                                         scared                                                     when I thought, “                                                        he almost caused me to get into an accident                                                    ”.                                                                    The way in which we handle anger, and our triggers for anger, are often learned by others. We have spent a lifetime observing our parents, siblings, friends, and partners act and react to situations. Understanding why you react negatively to specific triggers may increase understanding in order to help you make a positive change for the future.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Anger is a secondary emotion                                                                                                                                                             Primary emotions include pain,      embarrassment, sadness, fear, etc                                                                             Assess and address the primary      emotion in order to prevent the secondary emotion                                                                             Understand that these emotions      are a result of making a situation…  about                                                                 YOU                                                             (e.g.                                                                 I am in danger, I am      embarrassed or I am hurt                                                            )                                                                                                                   Refocus your attention-      consider all options and take the focus away from you                                                                             Ask questions!!! Example: “what      I’m hearing you say is… Please clarify what you mean by that.”                                                                                                                                                                                                  All emotions first begin with a thought                                                                                                                                                             Identify the thought you had      just prior to the negative emotion                                                                             Consider whether the thought is      productive to your well being                                                                             Transform your negative thought      to a positive thought in order to eliminate the negative feelings                                                                             Decide whether you are going to      allow one negative event to affect your entire day                                                                                                                                      Anger is learned by:                                                                                                                                                             Watching others react      negatively to situations                                                                             Observing another person being      triggered by an event, situation, sound, person, etc                                                                             Having others tell us what      should trigger our own anger
 
  




