Alternative Expressions of Anger (A13-EN)

Anger is a signal emotion and one of the arousal symptoms. The real purpose of it is to warn you about a threat. Anger can range in its expression from irritation to rage. It is also very important to know that you choose to get angry and that you chose also your reaction to your signal emotion. When you lose control over your anger you can become powerless. So, it’s important to learn what you can do to express your anger appropriately. 

Anger, behaviour, emotional outburst, reactivity

• to recognize the signal of emotional arousal
• to become aware of the responses of the body
• to gain insight into the reactive phase process
• to find appropriate alternative responses to external and internal stimuli

public officers, administration staff, teachers, NGOs working with refugees and migrants.

You might express your anger in words, pictures, or actions. You may use space in your journal to write about your anger or draw a picture. You may also take one or more pictures out of a magazine to describe it. Decide how and why the pictures are representative and glue them on your sheet or in a journal. You also may use one of the statements such as: When I am very angry I want to defend myself with excuses. I can’t take care of myself. I need to remember that I can just listen; ask questions; check if I understand what is being said, repeat, and ask if I have heard correctly, and look for some point of agreement.

Other things you may do when you are angry might be to go to the gym, take a long walk, or change anger into something that is functional and helpful. If you were to change your anger, you might look at the physical signs (e.g. tight jaw), cognitive signs (e.g. having suspicious thoughts, jumping to conclusions ...) or it’s behavioural signs (e.g. taking a fighting stance, giving dirty looks, verbalize in an inappropriate manner).

Use the examples of a handout to execute the activity. Follow the conclusions and steps. If you do the exercise in a small group, then the facilitator should also devote time to the exchange of participants' findings and discussion time with conclusions.

Paper, pen, crayons, magazines, glue

self-exploration, introspection, experiential learning, discussion

The facilitator prepares the exercises for you in advance. Enough time should be devoted to the exercise itself, and especially important is the time for sharing experiences and suggestions. The end of the exercise should be a participant action plan that can be written down, drawn again, etc.

Williams, M.B. & Poijula, S. (2016). The PTSD Workbook. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Integra Institute

Yes.