Module 19 – Understanding and Managing Anger
Estimated Time: 50 minutes
Student Aims
· To define anger and understand its causes and ways of expression
· To know how anger can be a prominent characteristic in some special education needs settings, and the approach you should have towards it
· To understand the different methods of anger management, and know the appropriate situations to use each given method
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19.1 Introduction
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Human beings are sophisticated creatures that have the ability to think abstract thoughts with a perception and understanding that surpasses our animal counterparts.
However, we are still mammalian creatures and part of the animal kingdom. Although we have evolved drastically from our earlier primate forms, we have not shed some of those primitive habits.
For instance, we have carried the ‘fight or flight’ instinct, which controls our impulse decision-making when we must make an intuitive, split-second decision (to fight it out or to run away quickly).
Some of our basic emotions are also characteristics that have evolved, only slightly, from our animal instincts – anger being at the forefront.
In this module, anger will be explored in detail along with different methods of anger management.
19.2 What is Anger?
Anger is an emotion or emotional state that all humans experience.
It is an expression of displeasure or hostility in varying forms and intensity that ranges from mild irritation to intense rage or fury. In its expression, it is accompanied by biological and psychological changes in the body, consistent with all emotional expression. When anger is expressed, the heart rate increases along with blood pressure and the energy hormones noradrenaline and adrenaline.
The Causes of Anger
Anger is caused either by external or internal triggers and is person-dependent (in other words, everyone becomes angry for different reasons).
External events would include a specific person who makes you angry for a particular reason or a situational event such as a cancelled flight or a traffic jam.
Internal events could stem from other emotions that have transformed into anger, such as brooding or worrying about personal problems, or remembering enraging or traumatic past events which trigger feelings of anger.
Understanding that there are internal and external triggers that invite anger is an important concept that will allow you to address the reasons behind that anger.
To truly rehabilitate someone who has compulsive anger issues, you must be able to discover the root cause(s) of it. Perhaps the reason that a person consistently becomes angry from being stuck in heavy traffic is that they were never taught by their parents to wait for things as a child.
It can go far deeper than this at times, too – for example, anger toward a new acquaintance who looks like someone from a person’s past who had upset them is an example of an internal trigger that could cause anger.
The Causes of Anger
Anger is caused either by external or internal triggers and is person-dependent (in other words, everyone becomes angry for different reasons).
External events would include a specific person who makes you angry for a particular reason or a situational event such as a cancelled flight or a traffic jam.
Internal events could stem from other emotions that have transformed into anger, such as brooding or worrying about personal problems, or remembering enraging or traumatic past events which trigger feelings of anger.
Understanding that there are internal and external triggers that invite anger is an important concept that will allow you to address the reasons behind that anger.
To truly rehabilitate someone who has compulsive anger issues, you must be able to discover the root cause(s) of it. Perhaps the reason that a person consistently becomes angry from being stuck in heavy traffic is that they were never taught by their parents to wait for things as a child.
It can go far deeper than this at times, too – for example, anger toward a new acquaintance who looks like someone from a person’s past who had upset them is an example of an internal trigger that could cause anger.
The Expression of Anger
The emotion is a response that is adaptive to threats in our environment (whether internal or external), allowing us to defend or fight for ourselves when we are threatened or under attack. In essence, a certain level of this emotion is necessary for survival. However, that can also be seen as primitive or animalistic.
The modern way in which humans live is very different from the way that nature would demand us. We have constructed our own environment in which there are social norms, laws, and things that demand our “common sense”. These social assumptions prohibit lashing out in anger in a regular and impulsive way – it is not acceptable to be angry at everyone or everything that irritates us.
There are three main approaches to anger: expressing, suppressing and calming.
Expressing
Expressing or expression is an assertion (not aggression) where you declare the way you are feeling about a particular thing. It is thought of as the healthiest way to express anger. Expression is where you communicate your needs and how they can be met to those around you without hurting anyone in the process.
The assertion is a means of communicating anger in a way that does not hurt others but rather is a process that respects others enough, to be honest with your feelings around them.
Suppressing
Suppressing anger occurs when a person does not express it at all but rather avoids acknowledging the emotion. Suppression is when you hold your anger within yourself, do not think about it, and instead focus on more positive thoughts.
When a person suppresses anger, it is either redirected or converted into another expression, Although the aim is to make it into more constructive behaviour, the reality is often different.
Suppression can have serious consequences both biologically and psychologically: hypertension or depression are long-term side effects in those who have a history of suppressing anger, and pathological (or compulsive) expressions of anger can develop in the future.
Calming
Calming your anger is another way that anger can be expressed. This is when you control your internal and external responses: lowering your heart rate, taking deep and slow breaths, and letting the feelings subside.
This is a method that requires great skill in order to identify your anger and be able to harness and calm it. Many people teach themselves this technique by starting with affirmations to themselves, such as, “I recognise my anger and appreciate it, but I will use its energy to calm and soothe myself rather than being angry”.
Some therapists believe that treating your most powerful emotions (grief, outrage, longing, etc.) as if they were people is a great way to calm them. In this way, you would speak internally to your emotion and soothe it as if it were a person. So, if you were sad, you would comfort your sadness with a hug that you imagine yourself giving to this emotion.
Anger and Special Educational Needs
Students with Special Educational Needs can sometimes have a lower sense of control and perhaps understanding of their anger.
Although generalisation is dangerous, this is especially the case for those pupils with behavioural or cognitive needs. Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are among some of the conditions that may be accompanied by anger issues.
It is important for the safety of the student, the safety of yourself and the safety of the school to make sure that proper anger management lessons and practices are enforced in your setting. Indeed, this will be good for all students.
Restorative practice techniques are a great way to ensure that these lessons are conducted in an appropriate and effective method. To refresh your memory, restorative practice is a method used by teachers and administrative staff that encourages adults and children alike to assume responsibility for their actions. Early conflict resolution is the focus of this approach, as well as encouraging people to be responsible for discovering solutions to their problems without the attribution of blame. For more information on restorative practice, refer back to Module 8.
SEN Students Understanding Their Anger
Some SEN students with severe learning difficulties may not have the initial ability to control their anger. Some students may not realise that they are angry, or what that means.
What is needed for these students is a structured and prescribed method of approaching their anger. This all comes down to the individual student’s needs, as has been covered extensively throughout this course: in other words, there is no general rule to address behavioural issues.
The right person has to be responsible for guiding a student to understanding their own anger – one who understands the student’s level of comprehension of their emotion, and one who is able to identify or discern why a student may be having recurring bouts of anger.
The most important factor in working with anger issues is to reinforce positive behaviour rather than emphasising the negative. This realisation can take place when the students are taught to recognise and commend positive behaviour, both in others and in themselves.
One of the main reasons for reoccurrences of anger expression is related to the student’s inability to communicate their needs, or because they feel that their needs are not being met.
Communication barriers have been covered throughout this course. Social communication is one of the main barriers for those individuals who have behavioural or cognitive difficulties. Being able to understand and empathise with students is an integral part of helping them to overcome anger or challenging behaviour. If you understand that the reason a student is consistently angry is that they cannot communicate their needs, then it is important to work with the student on their communication skills.
When you are working with SEN students to control their anger, the first step is to identify why they are angry. Then, you must address and help improve the cause of the anger. So, communication difficulties may be a barrier which angers the student. In this case, you can work towards setting up clear communication lines.
For example
Many students can communicate well through drawing or they may use a mood chart to express their anger.
Another possible reason for anger is difficulty in understanding the behaviour or actions of others. In this case, taking the time to explain the reasons or motivations for other students’ behaviours can be helpful.
19.3 Anger Management
Anger is a natural demonstration of deep displeasure, which may be expressed in personal, social and educational settings.
The cause of anger outbursts will vary greatly and ultimately depend upon the person, but early intervention with anger management strategies and skills is desirable in order to help students as they get older.
Students with special educational needs may have varying levels of comprehension and depths of understanding of the emotion. Some students may not fully grasp the implications of not addressing their anger.
Anger management could be approached in two ways: prevention, or active management.
Prevention establishes a practice or method that would ultimately avoid the expression of anger, and active management is the practice or method that targets the emotion in the midst of its expression. Prevention is the most effective way to manage anger. However, active management is also an important tool to be used to implement anger identification and control when the emotion is at its fullest.
Prevention
It is thought that the prevention of anger can occur in one of three ways: developing a sense of attachment; communication; and physical exercise.
All of these try to target the individual internal triggers that cause someone to experience anger on a regular basis.
Develop a sense of attachment
Developing a sense of attachment with a student that is often experiencing anger can be one of the most effective ways to target the out-of-control emotion. “Sense of attachment” essentially means to form a positive relationship that harbours trust and acceptance. Someone who doesn’t feel a sense of connection with anyone will feel lonely, which can cause a sense of internal turmoil.
Human beings are social creatures and when a person is not able to participate in such social needs, they sense that something is missing within, which can make them angry. Positive, empathetic and collaborative relationships between the teacher and student are essential if effective teaching is to take place.
The way to use this relationship as a tool for anger prevention is to use it unconditionally. A person with special needs will not always be able to understand their own anger. Explaining outright how you are going to work with an individual’s anger can often help defuse the situation.
In many cases, however, the student will need some quiet time alone to process what is taking place. It is important to ensure that you do not get drawn into the anger. The confirmation that you are always there to support the student in a calm and collected manner is something that will always come through. A positive relationship can be supported every day through activities that make both of you feel positive emotions.
Communication
It is important to make sure that the individual is able to communicate in some way. If they can communicate their likes or dislikes thoroughly, then there are several angry situations that can be avoided (for instance, anger over whether or not people understand their likes or dislikes).
Play therapy is a very good way of developing emotional expression, which allows a person to explore their emotions in a safe environment. Art therapy is another means of emotional expression.
The great thing about both play and art therapy is that words and language are not necessary, and they are ways that emotions can be expressed in a safe and explorative manner.
Physical exercise
Physical activity is a distraction from anger and also produces hormones that are responsible for creating positive emotions.
Physical activity also takes away a person’s excess energy, which is used for something more productive than fuelling angry feelings. Some individuals like to exercise in the morning as a positive start to the day. Other people would rather exercise in the afternoon or evening because it suits their energy levels.
Physical exercise is something to be careful of when incorporating it into a person’s routine – you want to make sure it is scheduled into the right time of day for the person involved. When it is scheduled at the appropriate time, the best results often occur. It is likely, however, that the best results will be gained from a number of different strategies, dependent on the individual needs of the student.
Active Management
The use of active management practices is far more difficult to implement in the midst of a person’s outrage, especially in the early stages of trying to bring about positive behaviour. However, while it may be more difficult, it can still be done.
There are two methods that could be used: cognitive behavioural therapy, and nonviolent crisis intervention.
Cognitive behavioural therapy
Cognitive behavioural therapy addresses a person’s thoughts about their emotions and teaches them the skills of managing the problems caused by powerful emotions.
A tool called social stories is a great way to implement this type of therapy, which allows you to create stories that ultimately produce a template or narrative for SEN students to be able to follow subconsciously, and eventually consciously.
To create a powerful social story, you should write in the first person and make sure that the general plot outlines a process that deals with anger in a structured way.
Nonviolent crisis intervention
Nonviolent crisis intervention can also be used for active management of anger. It is a method that teaches that the things we normally associate with crisis intervention – such as physical restraint, physical intervention or verbal suggestions – can actually be counterproductive and often dangerous.
As an educator, you have a responsibility to avoid any violent behaviour, either through verbal insults or attacks on a person’s dignity, or through physical restraint.
Ask your school about training courses for crisis intervention or crisis prevention. You will learn about the strategies involved in de-escalating disruptive behaviour and understand the importance of building positive relationships with individuals who may be prone to disruptive behaviour.
The point of anger management is not to completely dissolve an individual’s angry emotions, because that is a nearly impossible task. Rather, anger management is the method that should be used in order to teach an individual who is struggling with their anger, how to harness it and use that emotion to create a situation without harm to others or to themself.
Assignment
Understanding and Managing Anger
Time: 30+ minutes
Hopefully you have done your best to assimilate as much of the information in this module as possible. To find out how well you have understood it, make your way through the activities on this worksheet.
Download the worksheet below and complete.
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Conclusion
Working in special educational needs can be rewarding, but it also has its challenges. You may be working with a modified curriculum, and the students that you teach will be of varying abilities and have their own unique challenges.
It is important to ensure that your pupils have the opportunity to develop their talents in a wide range of areas. By doing so, you will be able to help them reach their full potential and achieve success.
In Module 2, we discuss the history and evolution of SEN.
WELL DONE!
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