Lecture 11

Anger Management

Dr. Paul Wong D.Psyc.(Clinical)

E-mail: paulw@hku.hk

Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP)

What is anger management? Anger management does not mean suppressing your anger,

keeping a tight lid on it.

Nor does it mean denying that you are angry, pretending that you are not anger, or avoiding the problem situation that has triggered your anger.

It only means knowing how to regulate anger, or it means learning how to not get angry in the first place and how to keep anger at moderate levels of intensity when it is aroused.

What is anger? Anger is a feeling or emotion. Aggression is a behaviour.

When you become angry, you lose your patience, heighten blood pressure, and want to act on impulse.

BUT becoming angry can also give your strength, determination, and even satisfaction.

Positive Functions of anger: Is an energizer.

Is a signal or cue.

The “floor” to express and communicate how we think and feel.

Negative functions of anger: Disruptive on our thoughts and behaviour.

Make us defensive.

Anger can lead to aggression.

When is anger a problem? When it is too frequent

When it is too intense

When it lasts too long

When it leads to aggression

What to learn in anger management? Recognizing the costs of getting angry;

Keeping anger at moderate levels of intensity when it does occur

Expressing anger constructively, especially when directed at other people;

Using effective problem-solving strategies to change problem situations.

Three basic causes of Anger

1. External events or triggers

2. Thoughts about and perceptions of these triggers

3. Bodily states of arousal and activation

Causes of anger – 1. External events

1. Frustrations – when you are trying to do something and are blocked, impeded, or disappointed.

2. Annoyances and irritations – noises, interruptions

3. Abuse – verbal or physical

4. Unfairness

Cause of anger – 2. Your thoughts (internal stimuli) Depends on

1. Attentional focus – learning how to shift your attention away from things that don’t really matter you can avoid anger that is unnecessary or unproductive.

2. Expectations – should or ought

3. Appraisal – interpretation (e.g., personalization)

4. Self-statements – “I have had enough of this!!”

Causes of anger – 3. Arousal, agitation, and mood

When we are under stress, we can become angry more quickly

Also, too much caffeine etc.

In sum Anger management does not mean suppressing your anger or

keeping a tight lid on it;

It means learning how to not get angry so often, how to keep it as low levels of intensity and how to prevent it from lasting too long.

Anger management involves taking action that is aimed at resolving a problem.

TECHINQUES 1. Thought control –

• Become an expert of your own anger patterns, knowing when you are angry and exactly what has made you angry.

• If you don’t know your pattern, you can try keeping a diary and write down moments that you are angry, then find out what trigger you;

• Adjust how you think

Technique 2. Arousal and Tension reduction

• You can’t be angry and relaxed at the same time – thus, you can try to practice relaxation techniques, e.g., calming response

Technique 3. Behavioural controls

• time-out

• use another way to communicate

• do something else for a while

The steps

1. Accept responsibility for your anger level

2. Practice and use the calming response

3. Strengthen your realistic thinking habits

4. Express your anger constructively

5. If an argument looms, stop the conversation

6. Can you communicate better now?

7. If too angry, take time out to cool down

In-class activity Think of a past situation which made you very angry, and use the

anger management technique retrospectively to manage that angry situation.

Video

Stress at Work