Article: Fortunately, anger management programs have been shown to have a high rate of success. The most successful programs help you understand your anger, give you short-term strategies to deal with your anger, and help you build skills. There are a wide variety of options for anger management programs. For example, there are anger management programs available for teens, executives, police officers, and other populations of people who might be experiencing different types of anger for different reasons. Therapy is a great way to find new ways of dealing and expressing anger. You can take your anger journal, for instance, and bring it to therapy with you. Your therapist will most likely use relaxation techniques to help you calm down in the middle of an anger episode. Your therapist will also help you deal with the thoughts that can trigger anger and find new ways to view your situations. Therapists will also help you with emotional coping skills and assertiveness communication training. You may choose to see a psychotherapist who specializes in a person's history to resolve problems today, such as overcoming an abusive or neglectful childhood, or overcoming a tragic event. This can be very helpful in dealing with anger from past events. Find a therapist in your area by using the American Psychological Association's Psychologist Locator. Anger is often part of a different disorder, such as bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety. Drug therapy for anger will depend on the condition with which the anger is occurring. Taking the medications for the disorder could help the anger as well. For example, if the anger is occurring with depression, anger could be treated along with other depression symptoms with antidepressants. If irritability is occurring as a part of generalized anxiety disorder, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Lexapro or Prozac might be used to treat the disorder. In the meantime, these drugs can help with your irritability. Each drug has side effects. For example, lithium is used to treat bipolar disorder. It has a very high rate of renal (kidney) complications. Being aware of the possible side effects will help you monitor for complications. It's very important to discuss these possibilities openly with your doctor. Be sure to talk about any addiction problems you have with your doctor. The last thing you need when you are struggling with alcohol, for instance, is to add another addiction. This should be discussed candidly with your doctor to help her decide the best medication to treat your anger and any other symptoms you might be having.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Enroll in an anger management program. Try therapy. Ask your doctor about medication.
Article: In order to change your thinking you need to know the exact thoughts and thought patterns that are troubling you or causing emotional distress. Some examples of counter-productive thoughts are, "I am stupid. I can't do anything right. I know I am going to fail. I know that person hates me. I hate that person." There are also specific types of thinking habits or patterns like catastrophizing, which means you often think the worst-case scenario will occur. Other thinking patterns include over-generalizing (thinking in always or never, such as, "I always mess things up."), mind-reading (thinking you know what someone else is thinking such as, "I know he hates me".), and predicting the future (thinking you know what will happen such as, "I am going to lose"). Make a list of the thoughts and thought patterns you want to change so that you can refer to them later. Write down which patterns or habits you tend to have. Be aware that some thoughts that may be considered "bad" are simply part of human nature, e.g. sexual thoughts, or "what if" scenarios that stem from our desire for personal safety. These thoughts are okay to have, and normal, and come from good instincts (like to procreate or protect ourselves and loved ones). If these thoughts become intrusive or interfere with your daily life, then you may need to address the obsessive nature of the thoughts. But remember, that still doesn't make the thoughts themselves bad. After you have identified your bad thoughts and thinking patterns, you can begin in develop alternative thoughts. Notice when you have an unhelpful thought. Identify the thought and then change it to something more realistic and appropriate. For example, if you thought, "I never do anything right," change this thought to something more accurate such as, "Sometimes I make mistakes and that's okay. I am human. I will do better next time." Catch yourself when you think a bad thought and say to yourself, "Wait a second! That is not a good thought and it's not true. I know I can turn this thinking around to something positive." A therapist who specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) may be able to help you with this process and give you additional techniques to try. (Note: CBT is not for everyone and for some psychological conditions a more nuanced approach is needed. Keep in mind that all therapists are human, and may not understand your condition. Try to find a therapist who admits that they do not have all the answers for everyone.) For example, if someone tells you not to slam the door, the first thing your mind does is imagine a door slamming. When you frame something with a negative grammatical construction "don't think about X" your brain has to think about that thing in order to remind itself not to. Subvert this by mentally replacing the undesired outcome with the desired outcome. For example, if you're worried about a job interview, don't think: "Don't forget my portfolio." Think: "Remember your portfolio." Instead of "Don't blow it," think, "I'm going to nail it." If you cannot stop worrying about how something could go wrong, flip the script and focus, instead, on the most positive possible outcome in that situation. Instead of trying to ignore the thing that is causing you stress, guide your thoughts in a direction that causes you less stress and anxiety. If your bad thoughts are about someone else ("I hate that person") ask yourself why you had that thought. Did this person do something bad to you? Is he or she abusive? Or is it something within you, like you're jealous of him or her? When you have these thoughts, examine your own emotions. What are you feeling right now? Do you feel insecure, powerless, or isolated? Try to figure out where these feelings come from. Did your parents always measure you against your perfect older sister? Try to shift your attention away from what others are doing and understand what is happening with you when you have those thoughts. Practice empathy by imagining sympathetic reasons for their behavior. Maybe you had a judgemental thought about your overweight friend, not realizing he's been busy caring for his sick grandmother and doesn't have time to exercise. Or maybe the person who was rude to you is suffering from chronic pain and lashing out because she's hurting. It doesn't need to be an accurate reason, but it might be enough to keep you calm and allow you to move on.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Identify the thoughts you want to change. Change your bad thoughts. Substitute positive wording and imagery for negative ones. Consider the best-case scenario. Address bad thoughts about other people.