Is your anger causing distress to yourself or those around you? Do you find it challenging to control your anger? Conveniently located in Wembley, north of Perth, and Como, south of Perth, I specialise in providing anger management counselling and psychotherapy services for individuals struggling with managing their anger. While counselling won't eliminate the sources of your anger, it can help you to reduce and control your emotional reactions effectively. If you're seeking support in managing your anger, I encourage you to get in touch and schedule an appointment.

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Understanding Anger

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Anger often arises from frustration triggered by the perceived disrespectful, demeaning, threatening, or neglectful actions of others. It can also be a response to things not going as planned, perceived injustice, excessive worry about personal problems, or feeling hurt.

 

Anger is a natural and typically healthy human emotion when expressed and managed in a way that acknowledges the feeling without causing harm to others. However, uncontrolled and destructive expressions of anger can significantly damage personal and professional relationships, physical health, and emotional well-being. Unmanaged anger may also lead to substance abuse, violent and aggressive behaviour, and potential legal consequences.

 

What does healthy anger look like?

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I offer anger management counselling aimed at teaching healthy and assertive ways of expressing anger, which includes:

• Clearly communicating your needs

• Understanding that being assertive doesn't mean being pushy or demanding

• Respecting yourself and others

• Expressing yourself in a non-aggressive manner

• Experiencing anger that is mild, infrequent, and subsides quickly

• Having the ability to calm yourself down

 

When is anger considered destructive?

 

Anger becomes a problem when it leads to actions or words that harm your long-term well-being. Signs of unmanaged or uncontrolled problematic anger include:

• Rapid intensification of anger within seconds

• Involvement of verbal, emotional, or physical abuse when angry

• Feeling angry most of the time

• Receiving comments from others about your anger

• Difficulties in personal and work relationships due to anger

• Relying solely on anger to get your needs met

• Anger that doesn't subside quickly

• Desiring to dominate or control others

• Holding grudges and planning revenge

• Feeling anxious or depressed about your anger

• Using alcohol or drugs to cope with anger

• Suppressing your anger

 

Managing Anger

 

Unmanaged anger may seem like a short-term solution to get others to comply with your requests, but it often leads to long-term problems for yourself and those around you. Reacting with anger to solve problems may often result in the anger itself becoming the problem. The individual with whom you are angry may feel attacked rather than addressing what has initially upset you. Throughout life, you will experience frustration, pain, loss, and unpredictable actions of others. While you can't change these events, you can change how you respond and allow them to affect you.

 

Strategies to Manage Anger

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Anger management involves being aware of triggers and early warning signs of anger and developing skills to manage your reactions before they escalate out of control.

 

Common early warning signs:

• Muscular tension

• Flushing or feeling heat in the face

• Increased heart rate, breathing, or sweating

• Sudden bursts of energy

 

Helpful techniques to manage your reactions:

• Step away from the situation to give yourself time and space to think clearly and calm down.

• Practice controlled breathing by slowing and deepening your breath, focusing on allowing your body's muscles to relax voluntarily.

• Use positive self-talk, saying things like "relax" or "I'm not going to let this get to me."

• Recognise that the situation is an unpleasant event, not a life-threatening catastrophe.

 

Relaxation Skills:

Relaxation techniques can help release muscle tension that contributes to excessive anger. Techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, meditation, yoga, and mindfulness exercises can be beneficial.

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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) for Anger Management

 

While the strategies mentioned above can help calm anger in the moment, they may not address the root causes of excessive anger. That's where cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) comes in. CBT is a highly effective psychological treatment focusing on how your thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes influence your feelings and behaviour. In CBT, you work with a trained psychologist, psychotherapist, or counsellor to identify unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviours and learn healthier and more effective coping skills for dealing with various problems. CBT is a proven effective treatment for various emotional, behavioural and psychiatric issues, including reducing and managing anger.

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Featured Videos About Anger

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Click here to access a selection of short informative YouTube videos about anger. These videos include helpful tools and techniques to help you manage anger effectively.

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Anger Management Counselling Perth

 

If you're struggling with managing your anger or want to explore the topics discussed in this article further, I invite you to contact me and schedule an appointment. In anger management counselling, we can delve into the underlying causes of your anger by exploring your thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours that contribute to it. Together, we can enhance your communication skills, develop effective coping strategies, and provide you with the tools you need to manage anger-provoking situations more effectively. Take the first step toward a healthier relationship with anger by reaching out today.

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