How to Decrease Aggressive Behavior

You may need to deal with the aggression of others as part of your job or even in your home life. When one person threatens, intimidates or violently assaults another, this constitutes aggressive behavior. People become aggressive for a variety of reasons. It is often caused by frustration. If a person lacks the social skills or the ability to articulate his needs, the only way he may be able to express himself is through aggression. A person's upbringing may have taught him that vociferous expression of anger is the norm. He may even have been abused, leaving him with a lot of unresolved anger and rage. There are measures you can take to decrease and manage aggressive behavior in others.

Instructions

• 1

  Discuss aggressive episodes and general aggressive attitude when the person is calm. Ask her to describe what she feels when she shows aggression. Discuss any triggers. Be assertive in your approach, refusing to take the blame for her behavior. The aggressive person should take responsibility for this. However, listen to any factors she describes as triggers.

• 2

  Help the aggressive person to develop alternative coping strategies. Discuss safe responses to triggers. Some people find that walking or other types of exercise help to defuse feelings of pent-up tension and anger. Taking time out usually helps. Praise the person when he manages to use these methods instead of giving way to anger. Encourage him to attend assertiveness training, if this seems appropriate. Sometimes, a person uses aggression because he cannot assert himself appropriately.

• 3

  Advise the aggressive person to seek professional help if the aggression is new. Sometimes, new-onset aggression can be a sign of an underlying neurological or psychiatric condition. Aggression may also occasionally be a side-effect of medication. If the person is frequently aggressive and this is not a new situation, she may need specific help, such as psychotherapy or anger-management treatment.