Lecture 11 Anger Management

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Lecture 11 Anger Management

• Dr. Paul Wong D.Psyc.(Clinical)
• E-mail paulw_at_hku.hk
• Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP)

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What is anger management?

• Anger management does not mean suppressing your
  anger, keeping a tight lid on it.
• Nor does it mean denying that you are angry,
  pretending that you are not anger, or avoiding
  the problem situation that has triggered your
  anger.
• It only means knowing how to regulate anger, or
  it means learning how to not get angry in the
  first place and how to keep anger at moderate
  levels of intensity when it is aroused.

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What is anger?

• Anger is a feeling or emotion. Aggression is a
  behaviour.
• When you become angry, you lose your patience,
  heighten blood pressure, and want to act on
  impulse.
• BUT becoming angry can also give your strength,
  determination, and even satisfaction.

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Positive Functions of anger

• Is an energizer.
• Is a signal or cue.
• The floor to express and communicate how we
  think and feel.

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Negative functions of anger

• Disruptive on our thoughts and behaviour.
• Make us defensive.
• Anger can lead to aggression.

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When is anger a problem?

• When it is too frequent
• When it is too intense
• When it lasts too long
• When it leads to aggression

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What to learn in anger management?

• Recognizing the costs of getting angry
• Keeping anger at moderate levels of intensity
  when it does occur
• Expressing anger constructively, especially when
  directed at other people
• Using effective problem-solving strategies to
  change problem situations.

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Three basic causes of Anger

1. External events or triggers
2. Thoughts about and perceptions of these triggers
3. Bodily states of arousal and activation

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Causes of anger 1. External events

1. Frustrations when you are trying to do
   something and are blocked, impeded, or
   disappointed.
2. Annoyances and irritations noises,
   interruptions
3. Abuse verbal or physical
4. Unfairness

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Cause of anger 2. Your thoughts (internal
stimuli)

• Depends on
• Attentional focus learning how to shift your
  attention away from things that dont really
  matter you can avoid anger that is unnecessary or
  unproductive.
• Expectations should or ought
• Appraisal interpretation (e.g.,
  personalization)
• Self-statements I have had enough of this!!

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Causes of anger 3. Arousal, agitation, and mood

• When we are under stress, we can become angry
  more quickly
• Also, too much caffeine etc.

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In sum

• Anger management does not mean suppressing your
  anger or keeping a tight lid on it
• It means learning how to not get angry so often,
  how to keep it as low levels of intensity and how
  to prevent it from lasting too long.
• Anger management involves taking action that is
  aimed at resolving a problem.

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TECHINQUES

• 1. Thought control
• Become an expert of your own anger patterns,
  knowing when you are angry and exactly what has
  made you angry.
• If you dont know your pattern, you can try
  keeping a diary and write down moments that you
  are angry, then find out what trigger you
• Adjust how you think

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Technique

• 2. Arousal and Tension reduction
• You cant be angry and relaxed at the same time
  thus, you can try to practice relaxation
  techniques, e.g., calming response

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Technique

• 3. Behavioural controls
• time-out
• use another way to communicate
• do something else for a while

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The steps

1. Accept responsibility for your anger level
2. Practice and use the calming response
3. Strengthen your realistic thinking habits
4. Express your anger constructively
5. If an argument looms, stop the conversation
6. Can you communicate better now?
7. If too angry, take time out to cool down

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In-class activity

• Think of a past situation which made you very
  angry, and use the anger management technique
  retrospectively to manage that angry situation.

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• Video
• Stress at Work

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