Stop, Think and React Anger Management Techniques

One of the most difficult anger management techniques to master is the stop, think and react anger management technique.

This is difficult because when we have anger control problems we rarely stop and think about anything and the part that makes our anger control a problem is because we react without stopping and thinking.

Too often we don’t realize that our anger got out of control until the situation is over and it is far too late to stop and think.

However, if you practice the stop, think and react anger management technique you can eventually master it and it will become your most powerful anger management tool.

They way it works is that when you first feel yourself becoming angry you need to stop what you are doing. Stop talking. Stop moving. Sit down. Just stop everything and breathe.

The best way to breathe is to a count of ten. Breathe in through your nose on count one through five and out through your mouth on count six through ten. Do this several times until you are calm enough for the next step.

Once you are calm then you need to think. Think about what made you angry.

Is it something that perhaps you shouldn’t be angry about? Often we are stressed out or tired or just in a bad mood and the littlest things set us off, even when they shouldn’t. When this is the case, just think about how silly it is to be angry over it.

However, if the cause of your anger is really something that makes you angry then you need to react in a positive way to that cause. This takes us to the third step, react.

Reacting is the phase of our anger that can lead to hurt feelings, holes in walls, broken dishes, or violence. These are negative reactions to our anger that we need to avoid.

Think about the reaction you should have. Think about what you will do before you do it. This alone should keep you from doing something stupid.

Think about how you can react positively to the situation. A positive reaction can be walking away from the situation and going for a walk.

A positive reaction can be to calmly discuss why you are angry and what you can do to come to a compromise in the situation.

A positive reaction is realizing that you may not get to have things your way all the time and accepting that, and then move on.

If you can master the stop, think and react anger management technique, then you can control your anger every time.