Signs That Your Anger May Be Brewing

Although it may seem as though anger arises and gets out of control in a flash, actually anger is the end result of a process that takes place within you. Unless you begin to pay attention to certain signs, you can be completely oblivious that this process is occurring -- until you explode in anger. Here are a few indicators to watch for:

1. Physical: increased heart rate and/or breathing; muscle tension. If you notice that your muscles are tense, rather than trying to ignore it and carry on with what you're doing, take a moment to be curious about it. Did someone just say or do something that bothered you? Did an event just occur that upset you?
2. Emotional: afraid, disappointed, frustrated, hurt, rejected, sad, stressed. There's usually a feeling under your anger. See if you can identify it and express it instead of the anger.
3. Thoughts: blaming, ignoring positives, jumping to conclusions, over-generalizing. Check out what's going through your mind. Sometimes your anger isn't triggered by an external event, but by your own thoughts.

Identifying these signs takes practice in self-awareness. But, the earlier you are able to notice what's going on within, the better able you will be to address an issue or a situation before you go to full-blown anger over it.