It's that warm feeling you feel in your face when you have had enough.
It's that thought "if someone comes even close to me, I am going to end them."
Maybe you have had this feeling before. Just in case you haven't figured it out—I'm referring to anger. Some of us experience this feeling more than others, but for some, this is foreign territory. I wanted to take some time to offer my thoughts on this subject and hopefully offer some advice.
First off, I am a person who is described as all smiles. I like to joke around a lot, and am a fairly joyful person. So, when I get angry, I hate it because it is not my personality to be in that state—it literally makes me uncomfortable. For a person as joyful as myself, I realized that I don't deal with anger well, so I would like to offer some ways to deal with anger
Take a deep breath.
This may seem cliche or not helpful at all, however, so many times our first response is to anger is to yell at whoever we are reacting to. Words are something we cannot take back easily, so take a deep breath and compose yourself, so that you are not operating out of a state of pure rage. Taking a deep breath physically also helps us to let peace take over our body and slow our blood pressure down so we are composed if we do have a confrontational conversation.
Choose your words wisely.
I cannot stress this point enough. My sister and I are really close now, but when we were younger and got into arguments, I would be so mad and words would just fly out of my mouth. I would yell and say things that I regret today. In the moment, it seemed so right for me to say those things, but when I calmed down I realized I had made a huge mistake.
I am grateful that she is a forgiving person, but what if your words when you are angry, cut deep into the person and they can't find the heart to forgive you? Take a deep breath, and choose your words wisely, it is worth it.
Channel your energy elsewhere.
Obviously, we all would like to be joyful every day, but some days that is not going to happen. One thing that helps me when I am angry is to go to the gym or go play music. I am channeling my energy through something else that is good. Through channeling my angry energy through something good, it actually gives me a new perspective of the whole situation.
Choose Joy, and when you can't be patient with how you are feeling.
