Anger Management - Do You Still Hold Your Breath And Count To Ten?

Do you remember as a kid what your mum would say to you when you became angry? " Take a couple of deep breaths and count to ten" Does that sound familiar? Did it work? Not very often in my case but a lot of the time I would be so angry that I did not even want to try to subdue the beast inside. The fact is that anger is part of life. It is just as much a part of life as other emotions such as happiness and compassion.

No one I know chooses to be angry. It is normally just a reaction to a situation that is part of the human nervous system. One of the first emotions recognizable in my son who is now pushing the almighty age of five was anger. How soon is too soon to start anger management.

Anger reveals more about you than it does about other people. It reveals more about your own temperament and how you respond to the world when you are not dealt the cards you want. You do not have to be a slave to your anger. You have just as much choice about how you handle this emotion as what clothes you choose to wear.

No one misses out in experiencing some form of anger. No one I know anyway. Anger does not discriminate with whom it chooses. It causes problems for males and females of all ages and from all walks of life. If allowed to run wild anger can poison your life.

Anger is something that you have to manage well rather than try to cure. In order to manage anger well it is necessary change your focus to the positive side of situations whether it be at home, at work, or in your most intimate relationship. Anger management involves a little more than just taking a couple of deep breaths and counting to ten.

I do know that it takes a lot of energy to be angry. It also takes a lot of energy to stay angry and even more to relieve that anger. I am exhausted just thinking about it and as I get older I do not have that much energy to waste. It is important that this valuable resource is used on tasks during your day that will make you feel more productive rather than wasted on an emotion which will leave you feeling angry and defeated.

I am a believer in the old saying "What goes around comes around" and in the principle of reciprocity especially when it comes to human emotion. When I do someone a favor and they say 'thanks', I ask them to simply pass it on because I reckon that life is like a two-way street. One act of kindness is often followed by another and the more love you put out there then the more love is going to come your way. The same works for other less attractive emotions of fear and anger.

There are different arguments nowadays from the experts on how people should express their anger and its impact on health. Wisely the concern is being directed towards how much of it a person experiences rather than whether they should keep it in or let it out. If you rarely get angry and you can quickly let it go then it does not matter how you vent it. If you find that you are always angry and it builds up and hangs around for days then you are going to pay the price no matter how you express it. You may have a problem and it will eventually adversely affect your health. Remember that there are professionals out there who can help.