Anger often occurs when people do not feel in control of a situation, such as when someone is injured in a traffic accident or has been forced to do something against their will. Anger can also occur when people feel threatened or vulnerable.

The primitive purpose of anger is to help reassert control to help ensure our survival. Sometimes, anger leads us to take other necessary actions to improve a situation. However, in today’s world, anger by itself often leads to increased conflict and rarely provides a long-term solution. Further, people are often angered by trivial matters, for which an uncontrolled angry response is unnecessary and unhelpful. Instead, anger can be prevented or channeled in a constructive way.

The key to preventing or better controlling anger is to change the thought pattern that is triggering and/or perpetuating it. For instance, instead of thinking, “I hate what just happened,” or “I’m being treated unfairly,” turning attention to a neutral or positive calming idea can help defuse the negative emotion. This blog reviews six such anger-modifying thoughts.

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