Lesson 3: Experiencing Anger, a continuation of the series "Balancing Emotions"

[Kanpekina Shima]

We've already talked about fear, now let's talk about another common emotion - anger. I can help you better understand what’s going on when we feel angry and make it less scary. What does anger feel like for you? Anger can happen when you believe that someone is treating you unfairly or trying to take advantage of you. Or when you make assumptions about the intentions of others. When you feel angry, do you ever feel it in your body? Some people notice that their face or chest gets hot. Their jaw clenches, heart races, or they have tense shoulders or burning in their stomach. It's tough to go through moments when you feel angry, but anger can actually be useful with one important thing. Anger can tell us when there is unfairness that we should try to reverse. We get super angry when we feel powerless. Anger is often really helpful: it can motivate us to make change, or help us influence others. For example, imagine your landlord raises rent after promising he wouldn't. Expressing your anger - calmly and effectively - may help your landlord realize he isn't being fair and change his mind. Try to think of a similar situation in your life. However, like every emotion, anger can sometimes spiral out of control. You might attack someone verbally, and then regret it later.

How to deal with it: It's really important that you notice when you start to get angry and how you react to it — and learn to recognize it early on, and understand what this anger is trying to tell you. Always remember that you will get by no matter how hard it seems.

Class dismissed!
Edit: This is lesson 4, not 3!