Anger is one of the first emotions we experience. Â It can be useful when it spurs us on to make changes. Â It can help decrease anxiety because it focuses attention, although there are better ways to manage anxiety. Anger can get in the way of relationships and even destroy them. Â Loosing one’s cool can harm us at work, school, and socially. After an outburst people can feel guilt and shame. Anger can even be a symptom of depression. Â However, it is often very hard to control anger, and sometimes it feels impossible to do. Some easy remedies are counting to 10, taking a few deep breaths, removing ourselves from the situation, thinking of something we have found humorous in the past, and/or repeating the mantra “I choose to stay calm”.
Research has shown that exercise can help control anger, and can help with mild to moderate depression, even a single session can have a prophylactic effect tempering angry feelings.