ANGER RELEASE

We all experience anger, but some more often than we like to admit. We generally experience the feeling of anger when we think we have been mistreated, threatened, attacked; when we feel frustrated or powerless; or when we are faced with problems that keep us from getting what we want or attaining our personal goals.

If this intense emotional state, which involves a strong uncomfortable and uncooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt, frustration, disappointment or threat is left unmanaged, it can not only become destructive to our life and our relationships, it can ultimately affect the quality of our life.

It is said that anger is not an emotion we are born with, rather it is one that is learned during childhood. Although some benefits of anger do exist, like building confidence to respond to danger or threats or overcoming fears, excessive anger may serve as a numbing agent, emotionally and cognitively. Experiencing anger varies from one person to the next, and not everyone handles anger in the same way. Some may anger very easily, whilst others may rarely display anger; some are conscious of their anger and know how to deal with it and control it, whilst others fail to recognize the signs of anger and find themselves in uncomfortable and in most instances, unpleasant situations.

“Where there is anger, there is always pain underneath”
~Eckhart Tolle~

It could be the smallest things like somebody taking your parking spot, or jumping the queue ahead of you, or hooting at you while in traffic that triggers something within and all hell breaks loose. What this means is that your anger is controlling you, distorting your sense of judgement and rationale, triggering an inappropriate emotional outburst or a fit of rage. When you suffer from anger issues that you are not able to manage, you are likely to feel shame, guilty, desperation and fear – fearful of losing those who are nearest and dearest to you. These negative emotions are then suppressed, weighing you down emotionally.

From a physiology perspective, anger can harm our body! Anger triggers the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response and the adrenal glands flood the body with stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. Too much cortisole in the body can cause an imbalance in blood sugar, it can suppress thyroid function, impact the body’s immune system and decrease the happy hormone, serotonin.

A decrease in serotonin, can make you feel anger and pain more easily, as well as increased risk of aggressive behaviour and depression. In addition, when we feel angry and stressed our heart and blood pressure increases, and excessive eating and weight gain may be initiated. Stress, as a reaction to anger, provokes our stomach causing it to produce too much acid which could result in gastric ulcers and acid reflux.

Prolonged and repressed anger is something human beings learn to live with and often the angry person uses their anger to scare away those they love and care for. Holding in our anger can be just as bad as lashing out with our anger and both can lead to serious consequences. These include heart attacks, hardening of the arteries, strokes, hypertension, high blood pressure, changes in heart rate, and metabolism, depression and respiratory problems.

Here are some of the common physiological signs of anger or rage:

Although it is good to be able to recognise the physiological signs of anger so that we can take hold of our emotions before it gets out of control, sometimes this alone is not enough as the root cause of the anger is deep within.

Snapshot of the Anger Release Therapy

The anger management programme, or Anger Release Therapy as I prefer to call it, is a process where we look within to remove the inner conflict that exists and collapse the chain of negative emotions (anger, guilt, hurt, sadness, frustration, rage, irritability, shame and anxiety) so that you can feel more in control of these emotions.  This does not mean that you will no longer feel any of these emotions, but rather that you will feel in control – you will no longer be overwhelmed in any challenging situation so your reaction and behaviour to previous triggers and situations will be calm and controlled.

In addition, often when people have struggled with anger problems they are very hard on themselves and have a low self-esteem from carrying the burden of regret, shame and guilt.  Because of this, it is important to install a new positive self-image and unconditional self-love as part of the therapy.

We use a lot of energy to suppress negative emotions so once all these negative emotional charges have been released, you will likely feel “lighter” and more energetic.  After the therapy you will have regained your power over your emotions, and a renewed sense of calm within.

The average duration of this programme is 10-12 hours however this may vary from client to client.  The programme includes the following:

• Discover the Primary Representational System – how you see the world?
• Understanding your subconscious mind & personal value elicitation
• Setting an Outcome
• Inner Conflict Therapy
• Negative Emotional Therapy
• Negative Belief Therapy & Installing New Empowering Beliefs
• Unconditional Self Love Technique – boosting self-love, self-confidence and self-worth
• Changing the Self-Image

Here are some of the benefits of the Anger Release Therapy:

• Helps you overcome shame, frustration, pride, aggression, anger and rage.
• Helps you to let go of past pain, hurt and anger.
• Helps you to no longer beat yourself up over your past damaging behaviour related to anger.
• Equips you with the skills to manage and control your negative emotions so that you are no longer at the mercy of automatic, unpleasant emotional outbursts.
• Helps you live with increased patience and tolerance for others and situations.
• Helps you to no longer feel overwhelmed in any challenging situation, enabling you to respond with an organized and calm mind to resolve issues that may arise.
• Helps you overcome any inner conflict which increases focus and decision making becomes easier.
• Helps you to feel empowered and confident.
• Helps you to become more approachable for your loved ones and friends.