As it says on the YoungMinds website, “Everyone feels angry sometimes – and we all have different triggers. You may experience anger in situations where you feel powerless or frustrated… sometimes you can feel angry and not know why.”
In this article, the Good Thinking team helps you to spot when you’re starting to feel angry and provides advice on how to manage your feelings and how you react. You’ll also find links to Good Thinking resources that help you to improve your mental health – this includes free NHS-approved wellbeing apps for young Londoners, such as Clear Fear and Move Mood.
Recognise how you're feeling
It’s useful to see anger as being on a scale from calm to extremely angry and to understand what triggers your anger – it could be something that happens (e.g. someone in your family annoying you), a change to your daily life (e.g. a relationship break-up) or a long-term worry (e.g. whether you’ll be able to get a job after school or university). As you move along this scale, you might experience the following:
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Wanting to run away from the situation
- Resenting other people and refusing to speak to them
- Feeling anxious
- Getting upset or aggressive
- Finding it hard to sleep
- You might also experience physical signs of anger, such as:
- A headache or stomach ache
- Clenching your fists
- Grinding your teeth
- Feeling hot, sweaty or dizzy
- Pacing around or rubbing your head
- Shouting, crying or swearing
Find ways to cope
If you often feel angry and it is affecting you and your family, there is lots you can do to get things under control:
