7 Ways to Get a Fast Handle on Your Anger

It came out of nowhere, a storm, an absolute whirlwind of emotion. Now here you are standing in the raw fury of white-hot anger. Your first instinct is to lash out. After all, how dare the world treat you this way?

Wait a moment. Stop. Don’t do something you might regret.

Heard it before? Worse, ever been frustrated by your inability to control your anger? Don’t despair. There are many ways to get a handle on your anger fast before you say or do something you might regret.

Count
Remember the adage to count to ten? Believe it or not, counting can work, though you might need to count to higher than ten to make a success of it. This is because the act of counting interrupts the emotion and forces you to focus on something else entirely.

Breathe
Speaking of interruptions, why not just take a few deep, calming breaths.

Shut Up
Seriously, stop talking. If you’re angry, you’re apt to say things you might regret later. Remember, silence is golden. Clamp your lips shut and refuse to say another word out loud.

Grab Some Tunes
Burn off the adrenaline by dancing around the room, singing along to something with a catchy upbeat tune. Not feeling it? Commit to singing along, at least for a verse or two. The funny thing is, once you start, the good feelings will come all on their own.

Time Out
Like being quiet, taking time-out means you’re refusing to engage any longer with the person who’s got your goat. Take yourself elsewhere and sit quietly until you calm down. There’s no reason to stay where you’re only going to be mad.

Do the Next Best Thing
Not sure where to go from here because you’re too mad to think? Look around. Do the very first thing you see which needs doing. Take out the garbage, return a phone call, wash the dishes, sort through the mail. Doing an ordinary, everyday task distracts your mind and gives you room to process the anger so you can deal with it when you’re calmer.

Laugh
This is another of those things which once you start doing it, you immediately feel better.

So laugh!

Fake laugh until it becomes real!

Need help getting started?

Grab a joke or two from online or watch a funny video.

You really can quickly bust anger by being intentional in your response. The key here is to switch to doing something else quickly to derail the anger. This way, you never lose control at all.