Are you aggressive due to the lack of knowing how to contain your anger? The problem with most of us is that we try to contain anger instead of addressing the issue that causes this feeling. Anger management is a temporary technique that only keeps your emotions in check until the next episode. Instead of trying to manage this feeling, you should digest and process it so that it stops recurring.
Aggression stems from the inner emotional energy that cannot be controlled. Mental health professionals say that you should use your anger to teach yourself something about yourself. From your emotions, you can learn your boundaries, sensitivities as well as things important in your life. Today, we are going to teach you practical methods that will help you deal with emotional impulses that cause aggression. Enjoy!
Practice mindfulness
Focusing on your emotions as well as your thoughts can prevent you from reacting aggressively during impulses. Mindfulness allows you to discover the triggers that cause aggression. Some of them include hurt disappointment and frustration.
Through this practice, you can identify bodily sensations that manifest themselves before triggers such as feeling hot, tense, irritable or threatened. Watch out for shallow breathing and an increased heart rate when angry. By identifying these things, mindfulness allows you to control the impulses before reacting to your anger. It, therefore, prevents you from becoming aggressive.Â
Make use of anger dumpers and withholders
These allow you to remain calm and take charge of your body instead of resulting to violence. Whenever you feel angry, give yourself some time. Use self-talk as you encourage your body to relax before overreacting.
Anger withholders can also help you remain in the present. Make use of containment practices to avoid bringing old baggage into the situation. You can, for instance, give yourself a hug or grip your arms. The aim is to focus on the present and avoid suppressing the feelings.
Get help from a mental professional
Sometimes impulse aggression can be overwhelming and lead to destructive behaviors. A lot of people who experience such episodes end up accumulating feelings of shame due to the inability to control oneself.
It can also ruin good relationships and affect families. That is why you need help from a mental professional when you are going through difficulties from the aggressive outburst. Through such help, you can learn the cause of your aggression and ways of addressing it. You can also be prescribed medication if the cause of the disorder is depression.Â
Identify situations that aggravate your anger
Sometimes, it may not be easy to predict sources of your rage. In other times, you can easily tell the sources such as situations at home, work or in school. You can control explosive episodes by avoiding situations that trigger your anger such as stress.
Identify common patterns in situations that cause your rage. For instance, some triggering events may be arguments with loved ones, pain from an illness or being misunderstood by people.
Make a plan
You can also prevent explosive episodes by creating a plan before they occur. This is where therapy sessions come in. They can help you make the right decisions to control anger and prevent aggression. You can decide to walk away from the situation to give yourself a break so that you don’t overact.
Let your family and friends away from your condition
Impulse aggression is a mental disorder that can be misunderstood when you don’t make the people around you aware. Talk about it with those you love to save you from breaking relationships as they start understanding your actions.
Remain honest with them and give them warning signs to prevent yourself from causing them harm. They can also get well prepared in cases of such episodes and give you support to help you control your emotions.Â
Abstain from drugs
Drugs alter the mind and affect the moods of people dealing with this condition. They also increase the chances of experiencing episodes of impulsive aggression. If you have problems with abusing drugs such as Adderall, seek Adderall addiction treatment to prevent yourself from addiction and take charge of your emotions.
Distinguish between normal anger and rage
We all have our moments of anger, and this is normal and healthy. Rage is what is not normal since it is a destructive emotion that makes people overreact every time they are faced with stressful situations. Try to gauge if your anger is at normal levels. If your feelings command your behavior and make you react aggressively towards others, you should accept that you have a problem.
Make use of relaxation techniques
Add relaxation techniques to your routine. Sign up for a yoga class or meditation to help you deal with triggers of anger such as stress. These can help you calm your nerves to reduce the episodes of impulsive aggression.
Work on your thoughts
Aggressive people tend to overthink or obsess about everything. It is possible to see trouble in different situations before it arises. Changing your thoughts by avoiding predicting or obsessing over things can prevent you from overreactions.
Try to be logical and reasonable in situations as you empathize with others. Come up with goals as you avoid giving demands or expecting too much from people. This will prevent you from disappointments and frustrations. Find humor in difficult situations so that you can see things from different angles.
Improve communication skills
Give yourself time to listen to others before reacting out of impulse. Aim at always finding more information about situations before making quick judgments. If you are feeling misunderstood, try to explain yourself to others instead of holding on to such emotions.
Be active
You can express your emotions through exercises. These are effective in combating impulsive aggression since they act as an outlet to help you deal with the negative feelings. Therefore, every time you feel like throwing a punch at someone, do it on a boxing bag. By working out, you allow your body to release endorphins that can boost your moods.
Final thoughts
Impulsive aggression is a condition that you can control. The tactics above can help improve your state of mind and relationship with others. Start using them today!
Read our full review about one of the best nootropic supplements: Mind Lab Pro
