Adolescent Anger Management

By Craig Rogers

There is nothing wrong with adolescents feeling angry. It's normal, natural and sometimes necessary. Anger in adolescents is an adaptive emotional response to experiences of hurt, injustice, fear and frustration. Anger often inspires a powerful physical response in the body, such as a rush of adrenaline, increased blood pressure, increased heart-rate and fast breathing. This physical response can lead to aggressive behavior, which allows adolescents to defend themselves when feeling attacked.

The emotion of anger is neither good nor bad. It’s perfectly healthy and normal for a teenager to feel angry when they've been mistreated or wronged. The feeling isn't the problem. It's what the teen choses to do with the feeling that makes a difference. Anger becomes a problem when it harms you or others.

Managing Anger

The term anger management refers to a system of therapeutic techniques and exercises which can be used by a teenager with excessive or uncontrollable anger and aggression, to control or reduce the triggers and effects of an angered emotional state. There are many tips and techniques that can be used when managing ones anger. Although expressing anger is better than keeping it in, anger should be expressed in an appropriate way. 

Frequent outbursts of anger are often counter-productive and cause problems in relationships with others. Angry outbursts are also stressful to a teenager's nervous and cardiovascular systems and can make health problems worse. Learning how to use assertiveness is a healthy way for a teenager to express their feelings, needs, and preferences. Being assertive can be used in place of using anger in these situations.