Rage Control Techniques

If you have a quick temper, it is important that you keep it under control as often as possible. While it is not reasonable to say you shouldn't feel anger at all, you should be able to control how you express it. When you act out in anger, you will not be acting rationally, which will cause you to say and do things you don't mean. So, you need to keep it under control by following a technique or combination of techniques that works for you.

Exercise

• Exercise is an excellent way to control your rage because it keeps you from thinking about the source of your anger. It also gives you an outlet; by getting your heart pumping and your muscles moving you are channeling the energy from your anger into a physical movement. The endorphin rush will also make you feel much better because endorphins release chemicals to make you happy and relaxed. So, whether it's weight lifting, swimming, boxing or anything in between, exercise can help you control your rage.

Time Out

• Remove yourself from the situation that is making you angry for a few minutes. Go talk to someone else, go buy a cup of coffee or do essentially anything that disconnects you from the source of your anger. If you aren't around the faulty computer, incompetent co-worker or other anger source, you will be able to cool off more effectively as your rage will not have any "fuel."

Word Choice

• Rephrase your words and thoughts in a more positive manner. This can be difficult, so it is best to start with minor frustrations. For example, if your printer says "paper jam," don't say "this always says 'paper jam,'" because that's simply not true. Rather, say "I get frustrated when this says 'paper jam.'" By sticking to factual, positive words you can avoid the irrational, negative energy that comes from rage.

Humor

• Make a joke. It doesn't have to be a good joke, or even a relevant one. It just has to be something that is clearly humorous. This diffuses emotions by giving them a new emotion to replace their rage with; by making people laugh, you can bring them (and you) away from the situation and encourage them to take a mini-break from it while they think about, then laugh at the joke. This works for you, too. If you make a joke that highlights the absurdity of your situation, you can laugh at it instead of raging at it, which lets you get your energy out in a more positive manner.