Anger is a normal emotional response to situations we find ourselves in from time to time. Anger can range from mild irritation to a powerful fury.

Anger might be directed at a specific person, yourself or at a situation, and can be the result of many things; a reaction to a situation that we might find ourselves (or others) in, such as a confrontation, car accident, exam failure or relationship trouble; it might be related to a memory. Anger is often associated with, or a response to, other emotions such as worry, guilt or frustration when things don’t go as expected or when people act differently to how you would expect.

As well as feeling angry your body also responds in a number of ways; your heart rate and blood pressure go up, and stress hormones are released, this can cause you to become flushed, hot and sweaty, or to perhaps get tense and shake.

Angry feelings are sometime associated with angry behaviour. These behaviours can include yelling and screaming, aggressive, abusive or violent behaviours, and withdrawing or ignoring the situation or person.

This is when anger gets out of control and can turn destructive. Anger can lead to various problems in all aspects of life. It can cause problems at work, problems with family and friends, and the people around you may feel scared, hurt, guilty or may become angry themselves. Anger and the associated resulting problems can affect a person’s mental health.

Signs that anger could be a problem may include:

• being angry a lot of the time;
• using anger as a means to get something;
• becoming abusive (emotionally, verbally, physically or psychologically) as a result of anger;
• anger expressed is out of proportion to the event;
• anger leading to relationship or work problems;
• people have expressed concern about your anger;
• getting angry with people closest to you (rather than addressing the problem);
• using alcohol or drugs to control anger.

Unfortunately getting rid of or avoiding the things, people or situations that cause anger is not always possible, but you can learn to reduce emotional feelings and the physical responses that anger causes and also control your reactions.

It is important to learn to manage your anger in a healthy way.There are various ways to manage anger:

• relaxation – give yourself a break and schedule in some personal time to relax or do something you enjoy;
• controlled breathing – slowing and controlling the rate of breathing can have a calming effect;
• controlled thinking – replace angry, irrational and exaggerated thoughts with rational and logical thoughts; try calming self-talk to reduce anger;
• problem solving – focus on a solution to the problem rather than the anger-causing problem itself;
• modify expectations – have an open mind about how events will turn out and how people will act; don’t expect things to happen in a certain way;
• better communication – try not to jump to conclusions; when presented with a problem, think carefully about what you want to say, and also listen to the other person;
• taking time out – if anger is starting to build, sometimes the best thing to do is get away from the situation for a while to calm down and think clearly before going back to it;
• avoiding the situations or people you know cause anger (where practical);
• identify triggers that cause anger – recognise the situations that make you angry; you may be able to avoid these things or respond more appropriately when they happen;
• identify warning signs of getting angry – recognise how the body reacts before getting angry so that you can manage the feelings and situation before it gets out of control.

If anger is affecting your life or you feel that your anger is getting out of control, there is help available to help you learn to manage your anger better. There are courses on techniques to manage anger, or you could get help from a health professional such as a GP, counsellor, psychologist or other mental health professional.

For further information please visit the British Association of Anger Management at www.angermanage.co.uk

The Mental Health Foundation website www.yourboilingpoint.org.uk takes a light hearted look at anger, but unhealthy anger can be a serious problem. It has been linked to a range of mental health problems.