Work related stress has been defined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as a harmful reaction people have due to undue pressures and demands placed on them at work. Simply put, stress is your reaction to the pressures of life and work.
Being under too much stress can have negative impacts on your physical and mental well being. But you can learn to respond to the pressures of work in ways that will not cause you harm. And one of such ways is to learn to control your anger.
Stress and anger have been found to be related. Anger is one of the emotions that puts the body under stress. For example, when angry, I can feel my heart beat faster. This could be a sign of raised blood pressure. If I remain angry or stressed for long periods, the possibilities of a heart attack cannot be ruled out.
Anger in itself can be a good thing. However uncontrolled anger will negatively harm you and others around you. If you control your anger, you will create a conducive environment for yourself, your family and your work colleagues.
Here are six ways to manage your anger and reduce stress.
#1. Recognise the signals, signs and triggers
This means you have to increase your self awareness and understand the events or activities that have the potential of triggering your anger. This increased awareness can prevent anger outbursts from happening. Should you be unable to avoid the situation, you can plan your response before hand and react rationally rather than with anger.
#2. Avoid anger triggers
Avoiding unnecessary and unhelpful situations that trigger your anger is another way of practicing good anger management. For example, you may be frequently upset because of your long daily commute or because you are overloaded with work. By doing such things as leaving home a little earlier to avoid the rush hour or by asking a colleague at work for assistance with the workload, you can avoid situations that trigger anger.
#3. Learn anger relieving behaviour
By using anger relieving techniques, you can stop your anger from getting out of hand. Simple techniques such as slowing down your breathing or counting to ten are effective in relieving anger.
#4. Take good care of your health
If your body is under a lot of stress and strain, you could be prone to angry outbursts. Just getting a good nights rest will prevent you from feeling cranky and irritable in the morning.
A proper work life balance can also help to prevent your being frustrated. Taking good care of your physical and mental health will ensure that you have a much higher capacity to deal with situations without getting angry.
#5. Exercise
Exercise is closely related to a healthy lifestyle. Exercise helps you to physically express your emotions in a safe and useful way. Exercise is also known to stimulate chemicals in the brain that helps you feel much happier, relaxed and in a good mood. Running, swimming, meditation and yoga are all exercises that help you deal with anger.
#6. Get support
Having a support network of family and friends you trust is a good thing. If you are under pressure at work, you need to be able to talk to someone you can trust. Simply finding ways to talk about challenges is in itself therapeutic. You can also receive motivation to stop your angry outbursts and other forms of help.
Just do it
Practicing anger management with some of the techniques listed above can help you regain self-control in difficult situations. This will in turn give a positive boost to your personal and work life.
Do you know any anger management techniques not listed? Why not share your tips with some of our readers by leaving a comment.