Dealing with Your Anger

How do you handle your anger? Are you likely to explode and hurt people close to you? Or do you keep it inside and stuff it down hoping it will go away? Neither of these is a sustainable strategy.

Psychologists tell us that men have problems expressing emotion openly - - except for anger. Society gives us permission to be angry. And we take that as a license to express it whenever we feel it.

But unbridled anger can seriously and permanently damage relationships. Learning to channel our anger into productive conversation and negotiation can work wonders for relationships.

This is something you can tackle yourself. If you believe your anger sometimes gets out of control or is damaging relationships, read up on the subject and take action to moderate your anger. If you need help with this, consult a counselor or your minister.

Unexpressed anger is not healthy. Overly expressed anger is destructive. You are entitled to your anger but you're not entitled to take it out on everyone else. The trick is to learn to express it constructively and include in it a heavy dose of forgiveness. 

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Help us to be aware of our anger today and to manage it in a mutually productive way. Amen.