Picture of a mad cat with mouth open When you get MAD! Picture of an angry cat with her head down

Everyone Gets Angry

It Doesn't Mean That You Are Not A Great Person!

Everyone has different feelings, from those that make us happy, to feelings of anger that make us want to attack. Everyone feels angry at some time and this is normal. In cave man times, when you had to fight to get food or protect yourself, anger helped you to stay alive.

When you get angry, your heart beats faster and your face might get red. Some of your body chemicals increase. You might have a bad feeling in your stomach and breathe hard.

You get angry after you have felt another feeling first.

  • embarrassed
  • left out
  • sad
  • don't understand
  • cheated
  • hurt
  • helpless
  • tricked
  • guilty
  • disappointed
  • threatened
  • afraid
 Picture of a grouchy looking cat

You might be angry because you remember events or feelings that happened a long time ago. That happens because angry feelings can get stuck in your head. They can start to pile up with each other and get bigger and bigger until they explode or you just can't control them. Being mad can just plain get in the way so that you have a hard time feeling happy or having fun.

 

What Can You Do When You Feel Angry?

  • Breathe deep and slow
  • Count to 10 - and then do it again
  • Remember the feeling you had just before you became angry
  • Talk about it
  • Write about it
  • Draw about it
  • Exercise
  • Play the MAD Game
  • Remember that you can control your actions when you are mad
  • Remember that you are still a wonderful person
  • Close your eyes and imagine something good
  • Try to see something funny about what made you angry
  • Try to think about how the other person feels

What NOT To Do!

  • Make some one else feel bad
  • Hit
  • Throw things
  • Let your anger be your boss
  • Hold your breath
  • Say things you don't mean

Picture of a cat with an irritated look

Mad Fixers

Nothing that you write here will be saved and no one can see it.

1. Name 3 things that REALLY make you angry:

2. Name 3 things that you would like to change if you could:

3. Now get a piece of paper and draw about what happened to make you mad.

4. Now draw a picture of what could have been different so that you wouldn't have gotten angry.

5. Can you list 3 things that make you happy?

2. Name 3 of your favorite people:

The MAD Game

1. Pretend that you are a lion - snarl your face up and make a loud GROWL!

2. Tighten up all of your muscles - HARD

3. Now start relaxing your muscles, one by one, slowly.

4. Take a big deep breath and let it out very slowly.

5. Think of something GOOD!

I hope that you feel better now!

Source: http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/anger.html || http://www.angriesout.com/index.htm#kids

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