Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Anger management
WE can be an angry lot at any time of the year but it’s the festive season that really gets us fired up to go bang faster than a Christmas cracker.
More than half of us have family disagreements during this time, with the average family’s first Christmas Day argument kicking off before lunch.
National Anger Awareness Week runs from December 1 to 7 with the intention of arming people with the tools they need to see the season through without showdowns over the turkey.
We asked the experts about anger – what it is, why it affects us so much, and how we can curb it. The roots of anger are to do with feeling hurt or pain or some sort of self-reflection you don’t want to consciously acknowledge.
Expressing that hurt in an honest way can be a challenge but healthy relationships are based on honest communication.
People keep changing so our relationships need to go through constant realignment. Be aware of how you feel about a relationship and any frustrations you have, be willing to communicate this and be prepared to hear this from someone else. right. But unmanaged or left unacknowledged it can be, so learn to manage your own anger.
Be grounded and remind yourself to keep your cool and think about the consequences of losing your temper. Take long, deep breaths, count backwards from 20 to one, listen to some calming music, go for a walk, or visualise a tranquil place.