5 TIPS ON DEALING WITH ANGER

Americans are angry. The country erupted into the worst civil unrest in decades after the death of George Floyd, and anger about police violence and the country’s legacy of racism is still running high. At the same time, we’re dealing with anger provoked by the coronavirus pandemic: anger at public officials because they’ve shut down parts of society, or anger because they aren’t doing enough to curb the virus. Anger about being required to wear a mask, or anger toward people who refuse to wear a mask.

“We’re living, in effect, in a big anger incubator,” said Raymond Novaco, a psychology professor at the University of California at Irvine.

Here are some strategies to curb anger:

1. Insulate yourself from anger

“The most important lesson concerning anger control is not to get angry in the first place,” Novaco said.

Pay attention not to what angers you but to things that contribute to positivity in your life.

Another way to insulate yourself from anger is through“basic self-care,” psychiatrist Joshua Morganstein said: getting enough sleep, hydration, and nutritious food and exercise, and not using alcohol, tobacco or other substances to cope.“There’s nothing exciting or headlinegrabbing, frankly, about self-care,” he said.“The things that are at the root of our wellness tend to be relatively humdrum.”

2. Watch for signs

To control your anger, Novaco said,“you’ve got to recognize that it’s happening.”That means“selfmonitoring”: being attuned to the physical feelings — a flushed face, a racing heart or tight muscles, perhaps — that indicate anger is approaching.

When we sense those feelings, we shouldn’t try to suppress or deny them, says Damon Tweedy, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University’s School of Medicine. He suggests allowing yourself to feel that way for a short period of time, and then moving on to either address your anger in a constructive way or engage in self-care.

3. Stop and think

If you feel an impulse coming on to do something antagonistic, Novaco said,“you’ve got to think, ‘Wait a minute, is this a good idea? What are the consequences of this? How is this helpful?’“

We might need to remind ourselves, Novaco said, that we have “a problem here that needs to be solved, not a threat that calls for an attack.”

4. Deal with that heightened energy

Addressing our anger involves both physiological and cognitive components, according to Brad Bushman, a professor in Ohio State University’s School of Communication and an aggression and violence researcher. “Physiologically, you want to reduce the arousal state to get rid of the anger,”he said, through taking deep breaths or counting to 10.

What you shouldn’t do, Bushman added, is vent.“When you hit, kick, swear, scream, shout, punch a pillow, punch a punching bag,”he said,“what you’re doing is keeping the arousal levels high.”

5. Take action

Anger isn’t necessarily a bad thing.“Most people call it a negative emotion, but ... virtually every movement in history has been fueled by anger because angry people want to do something about their current situation,”Bushman said.

In contrast to other emotions such as depression and anxiety, Novaco said, anger can be a powerful positive force.“Anger doesn’t stop you. The important thing, though, is to use it in a way that has a positive result.”