Anger and frustration

Anger and frustration are emotions that we experience on a daily basis, depending on what makes us angry, we can find a number of situations everyday that make us feel cross.

The anger and frustration that can become a problem are the feelings and emotions that we cannot control, when we find ourselves getting so angry and frustrated that it can turn uncharacteristically into physical violence.

While frustration is a milder form of anger it too can build and turn to anger, frustration can start with something small. The small thing that we didn't notice at first can however turn to frustration and this starts to build slowly into something bigger and bigger. In turn frustration can turn into anger.

Anger is a completely natural emotion and one that can be difficult to deal with because it is a negative emotion. Society is naturally more accepting of happy people rather than someone who is angry. However to feel happy and positive we need to be able to feel angry and frustrated in comparison. It is hard to deal with our own anger because as children we were probably taught that being angry is bad and naughty. We are rewarded for being happy and pleasant but as soon as we show disagreement, we are punished.

As an adult I have found my own anger difficult because I could not express it, I would let all the anger build up and it would come out all at once in one large rage. I was letting my frustration build into anger and my anger was building into rage.

I began to deal with my anger through firstly dealing with the situations that were making me angry, looking at what was making me angry helped me to decide whether I could deal with the situation differently. I also tried to determine whether I could remove myself from certain situations that were making me cross. Secondly I tried to just stop and breathe - if I could remember - before getting angry, taking a moment to stop and cool down can help reduce or even stop an outburst. Finally I dealt with anger and frustration through addressing the anger every time if possible, rather than letting it build up. If I was angry with someone I would speak to them straightaway rather than letting the feelings escalate.

Anger and frustration are very ordinary emotions to feel but when they start to build and make us feel that we can't control them, they turn into negative feelings. However they are feelings that can be dealt with when we recognise them and want to change how we have been feeling.

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