Anger Management Strategies for Students

It is normal to experience anger as a result of the many frustrations in life. Students tend to experience anger due to injustice with them at school, bullying, peer pressure, social anxiety or a dysfunctional family environment, but it is important that they learn to release their rage in a healthy way.

Anger becomes unhealthy, toxic and dangerous to students and the people around them when it is let out aggressively.

Suffering from anger management issues at such an early age can impact the mental health and behavior of students and can seriously harm their relationships with their loved ones.

Therefore, it is necessary for students to learn when their anger becomes excessive and unjustified so that they can keep themselves in check.

Why Should Students Control Their Anger?

effects of anger on students

Research suggests that 1 in every 12 students suffer from anger disorder, i.e., they experience violent outbursts of rage. Anger management issues are two to three times more common in males than in females.

One of the most important reasons why anger in students must be controlled is because of its impact on their mental and physical health. Excessive anger results in increased anxiety, insomnia, and makes students more susceptible to depression and irritability. Moreover, uncontrollable rage can lead to headaches, indigestion and skin problems among young people.

Students who suffer from anger management issues resolve to violence and tend to express themselves aggressively, either physically i.e. by pushing, hitting, throwing things or verbally i.e. by swearing and shouting.

This puts their classmates, teachers and family members at risk of being hurt. Violence amongst students also results in them committing criminal activities when they are unable to control themselves. It is therefore necessary to understand the importance of dealing with anger for middle schoolers and teens.

7 Ways to Manage Anger As Students

If you are a student searching for ways to keep your anger in check, here are some effective anger management strategies for students:

  1. Walk Away
  2. Reflect and try to understand the Situation
  3. Self Talk
  4. Breathe and Count to 10
  5. Keep Your Hands Busy
  6. Talk to Someone
  7. Opt for an Online Anger Management Class

1. Walk Away

walk away

Oftentimes things don’t go the way they were planned which causes anger and can lead to anger outbursts. In other cases, you may find another person’s attitude displeasing and annoying to the point where rage builds up inside you.

For example amongst a group of kids in class or at home in your family. You may also feel frustrated when you have a disagreement with someone.

In situations like these, where you feel that you are extremely angry, you must learn to walk away rather than involve yourself in an argument.

Your disengagement is necessary to prevent the negativity in your head from finding its way out through aggressive means. Walking away gives you the space and time you need to clear your head and think more logically.

2. Reflect and try to understand the Situation

understand the situation

An effective strategy for how students should control anger is by reflecting upon the situation that is triggering their rage. Rather than reacting immediately, it is necessary that you try to understand the situation.

Upon logical thinking and reflection, you may find that your anger is over something very trivial and therefore unjustified. Even if the matter is such that your anger is valid, reflection prevents you from overreacting.

Reflection after a temper outburst is necessary. If you have failed to control your rage, you must take out time to understand whether the situation could have been dealt with differently.

When you look back at it with a clearer head you may be able to identify where you went wrong and try to control a similar behavior next time.

3. Self Talk

self talk and positive affirmations

Self talk and positive affirmations are essential in helping students deal with their anger. If you feel angry then you must try to calm down by telling yourself “it’s okay“, “I can do this“, “I can control myself“, etc.

When these affirmations counter the anger that is building up in your head they allow you to distract yourself from the heat of the situation and focus on the more positive aspect of dealing with it.

Through self talk, you can prevent yourself from showing physical or verbal aggression thereby preventing the possibility of hurting those around you.

Once you are able to calm yourself, you will be able to think more clearly and find other solutions to your problem.

4. Breathe and Count to 10

Take deep breaths

In situations where things don’t work out your way, or when you get into an argument, you may feel extremely frustrated and angry.

Your rage may build up and then release in the form of an aggressive outburst. To prevent this from happening you must use techniques to calm your mind.

Breathing techniques can be very useful in regaining your composure. When you feel that you are on the verge of an outburst, you must take slow, deep breaths.

Breathe in like you are smelling a rose and breathe out like you are blowing out a candle. This allows sufficient oxygen to reach your mind and relaxes your nervous system, enabling you to think more clearly.

Another technique that you can use when you feel enraged is counting to ten. Anger outbursts usually occur when a person immediately reacts to the stimulus of their anger and does not allow their mind to think and assess the situation.

Counting to ten gives your brain the time it needs to calm down and start thinking more logically.

5. Keep Your Hands Busy

keep your hands busy

When you feel angry, one of the ways that your body seeks to release that anger is by signaling greater blood flow to your hands.

This is the reason that you may feel the urge to hit or push someone, slam the door or throw an object.

To prevent this from happening you must keep your hands busy so that in a frustrating situation your mind doesn’t see them as a way of letting your emotions out.

You can do this by keeping a stress ball in your hand, squeezing a pillow or holding onto something tightly when you feel upset.

6. Talk to Someone

talk to someone

Improving your communication and talking to people can help you manage your anger better. When a situation bothers you and makes you angry, it is always helpful if you talk to someone close to you whether it is a friend or a parent. Your conversation with them doesn’t have to involve them lecturing you on where you went wrong.

Rather, it can be a discussion of what happened. This will allow you to let out your frustration and think clearly. You may even come out of this talk with some good advice and in a much better mood.

You can also manage your anger by talking to the person you may be having a problem with. Rather than exploding on them, you can sit down and listen to their side of the story.

This may help in making you realize that you were overreacting, their view is valid and that your outburst could have been unjustified.

7. Opt for Online Anger Management Class

opt for online anger management class

Anger management courses can be essential in understanding how to help students in controlling their anger. These online classes provide you with counseling and give excellent tips on how you can keep your temper in check.

Depending on the seriousness of your anger issues, you can choose to enroll in four hour, six hour, eight hour, or a fifty-two hour course.

Throughout the duration of the course, experts will try to help you understand your condition and will guide you on the different techniques you can use to prevent yourself from getting angry and aggressive all the time.

This will allow you to protect your mental and physical health at a young age and will help you maintain healthy relationships with people in school and at home.

Conclusion

Students in middle school, high school and college, can experience many frustrations in life whether it is related to their academics, their social life, or their family.

This can make them susceptible to anger that they may be unable to control and can let out through aggressive means such as physical and verbal violence. Excessive anger threatens their physical and mental health and their relationships with their loved ones.

Therefore, it is necessary to learn how to control anger outbursts in students. There are many strategies you can apply to overcome anger as a student. Two of the most effective methods that students can opt for are breathing exercises, which instantly help you control your anger, and online anger management classes, a long-term and sustainable process that guides to help you to keep yourself in check.

Carlos-Todd-PhD-LCMHC
Carlos Todd PhD LCMHC

Dr. Carlos Todd PhD LCMHC specializes in anger management, family conflict resolution, marital and premarital conflict resolution. His extensive knowledge in the field of anger management may enable you to use his tested methods to deal with your anger issues.

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