Print this topic

HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury

Anger management

Anger is a strong and challenging emotion. It is common to experience anger, but it can also feel frightening.

Anger occurs when you experience overwhelming feelings that you may express by arguing and shouting. Sometimes, anger can happen if you are feeling sad, scared or depressed.

Your anger can be increased at times of stress. For example, due to work, relationships or moving house, or changes including hormonal changes that can create mood swings.

Angry feelings that are expressed by physical fighting, bullying, excessive shouting and arguing, destroying things or self-harm is a sign that your anger has become a problem.

Managing anger

Learning how to deal with anger can take some practice. Feeling angry is OK, but hurting yourself or others because you are angry is not. The trick is to learn how to manage and express angry feelings positively, and without losing control.

Here are some ideas on how to manage a situation when you are experiencing anger.

Here are some ways to prevent or limit yourself from feeling angry.

Getting help with anger

If you are struggling to control your anger, it is important to get help.

This is especially important if you have been violent, or are worried you will be violent when you are angry. As well as physically hurting someone, violence includes other actions such as verbal abuse and threats.

Your general practice team can help to arrange support for you, or you can look for a counsellor yourself in the Family Service Directory.

  HealthInfo recommends the following pages

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed May 2024.

Sources

See also:

Depression

Bullying

Emotional & physical abuse

Stress

Page reference: 50772

Review key: HIANY-50772