Lesson: Anger Management Techniques

Conversation

Answer the following questions. You might be asked to write them down or answer them out-loud.

1. Do you consider yourself a calm person? Why?
2. When did you last get angry? What was it about?
3. What are the situations that make you angry?
4. What do you usually do when you get angry?
5. Do you think the stress we live today makes us more prone to anger?
6. What do you do to relieve stress?
7. Are there different types of anger?
8. What are various ways people respond to anger?
9. Is getting angry an effective way of dealing with problems?
10. Are there better and worse ways to respond to one's own anger?

Vocabulary

Look at the vocabulary below. Take time to explore the links for their definitions in English and their translations to Portuguese. When you are done, make a sentence with each word. Ask your teacher if you should write them down or say them out loud.

DT   angry

DT   shred

DT   vain

DT   inevitable

DT   punch

DT   harmful

DT   handy

DT   dandy

DT   tiny

DT   breathing

DT   deep

DT   inhaling

DT   exhaling

DT   unclench

DT   fist

DT   slump

DT   unwind

DT   displace

Video

Watch the following video but DON'T read the transcript yet.

After watching the video do this listening exercise.

Reading practice

Read the following transcript then do the associated reading comprehension exercise.

ExpandTranscript:

It doesn’t take a lot to make me angry. What about you? Did some schmuck cut you off on the freeway? Maybe your boyfriend accidentally shredded that birthday card your grandma sent you. So you freak out, you scream, maybe, a vain pops out of your forehead. It happens to everyone. But, did you know that anger is actually affecting your physical health? Hey, anger is inevitable. Ok, you can't just stop getting angry, even the world's most sedate person has uttered a few choice words in traffic. Will that expletive fest really make you feel better? Will punching a wall really calm you down? The answer is NO. Sorry but recent studies have shown that angry reactions are pretty harmful to your physical health. A Yale University study found that people with anger management issues tend to get sick more often. Their anger actually weakens their immune system. The Journal of the National Medical Association added that people who respond negatively to anger are 9% more likely to have a heart attack. Hey, it might not sound like a lot but come on, it's a heart attack. Every percentage point counts. Other studies have linked anger to everything from coronary disease to high blood pressure. Now that we all know that excessive angry outbursts are bad for you, we're going to teach you how to manage that anger in four simple steps. All you're gonna need is that handy dandy Wellcast journal, a little bit of time and a tiny bit of self awareness.
Step 1: Control your breathing.
When something pisses you off, instead of screaming or laying on the horn, take deep breaths. Spend two to three minutes breathing deeply, into through your nose and out through your mouth. Imagine inhaling calm blue air and exhaling that red toxic air.
Step 2: Relax your muscles.
Unclench your fists, make a conscious effort to loosen those shoulders and slump a little. Re-posture is awesome, but for now let those muscles unwind. I promise it'll help.
Step 3: Get it out.
Once you're relaxed and breathing deeply grab your Wellcast journal if it's a road rage thing obviously please pull over. But when you get a chance write down exactly what made you angry.
Step 4: Seeking context.
It's important to put your angry into context by thinking rationally instead of emotionally. Think about it. Are you gonna be angry tomorrow? Yeah, probably. What about a week from now? Hmm, maybe. A month? Probably not. A year? I don’t think you'll remember, but by examining your angrer this way you can displace yourself from it and you'll be able to process your anger without letting it taking over your life.
Let's recap! You need to find a healthy way to process your anger or else you could run into some really nasty health problems. Remember to relax and breath evenly and then work through your anger by writing it down and contextualizing it. We can't promise you won't get angry ever again but hopefully with this you found a way to deal with it a little bit better.

Writing practice

Write a short article about a situtation where you got very angry and almost/totally lost control. How did it end? Make sure to use words you learned from the text and try to make it as long as you can.

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