As a part of Aashta, The Psychology Club, a Counselling Unit initiative, in house counsellors Ms. Smita Pradhan & Ms. Gayatri Borse conducted a module on Anger Management for Junior College students on 21st Sept. 2023.
Anger can appear unannounced, without warning. It can be helpful to recognize what it feels like early and the sort of behaviour that can result. It can escalate from trigger to outburst surprisingly quickly in the young or someone with limited self-control.
Anger is typically expressed differently depending on the age of the child. Adolescents show their anger in more grown-up ways, most likely using their developed language and motor skills. The behaviour can be extreme that includes engaging in acts of substance abuse, misconduct behaviour, verbal threats, etc. that involves some amount of risk.
It becomes very important at such situations that we understand what triggers the anger (event, person, actions or even a memory) – whether normal or out of control – and how to learn/ inculcate the coping strategies to avoid or calm an angry episode. Therefore, it is vital to be aware of physical, behavioural, emotional and cognitive cues the body tends to give us. This helps us to be more aware and pay attention to observe the series of negative emotions or patterns, if any. Once we are aware then it is easy to look for the coping mechanism that works for us that can help us regulate the anger appropriately.
Keeping this background in mind, a session was planned for XI and XII graders, which highlighted the biology, the triggers, reflective cues, and coping mechanisms. It also emphasised upon the emotions beneath the emotions with the help of iceberg analogy. The session was quite interactive as lot of real- life situations, especially conflicts and clashes or arguments with parents and peers were involved.
