Expressing Anger Feelings

Did you know that storing your angry feelings can increase your stress?

Have you found yourself repeatedly going over what someone "did to you" and getting angrier?

Here are some tips for working through your anger and taking action:

1. Identify why you are angry.
2. Write it out and let yourself say whatever you want, recognizing you won't be showing this to the person with whom you are angry.
3. "Vent" to a trusted friend and ask for advice about handling the situation.
4. Go for a bike ride or work out at the gym to help discharge your angry energy.
5. Sort out the main issues and decide how to express your feelings in ways that are respectful of both the person with whom you are upset and you.
6. Find a time to talk and remember to listen as well.

1-Liners for Relationship Success!

Do you wonder how you can be talking calmly to your spouse or partner and suddenly the discussion escalates before you know what's happening? Getting there is so easy, primarily because we forget to apply the essential 1-liners and go down the "Let me prove you wrong,"
path.

Here are a few one-liners which can help you climb back up that slippery slope.

• "I hadn't thought of it that way."
• "Tell me more."
• "Help me understand the ways this issue affects you."
• "I'm sorry I overreacted."
• And my favorite, passed on by a colleague, "I want to know the story that goes with your feelings."