Dealing with Anger and Anxiety
There’s no doubt COVID-19 has rocked our world and stress is running high. Dealing with anxiety is hard. Routines have changed. Most of us are homebound. Many are disappointed, anxious, frustrated or downright scared. The stress can become too much. And when we’re anxious for any reason, we tend to take out our frustrations on the ones we love the most, our family members.
Anxiety can morph into anger very quickly. “Anger is a secondary emotion triggered by a primary emotion. Frustration, annoyance, chaos, and a lack of understanding can be catalysts to an ungodly expression of anger. Anger isn’t sinful in and of itself; it’s a God-given emotion. It’s how we choose to express our mad that can be harmful.”1
A helpful tool in dealing with anger is a rage interrupter 2. Lori Wildenberg and I include our technique when meeting with parents one-to-one and in workshops because the strategy really works. The goal is to replace the anger with a sense of calm to get control of one’s emotions. For example, my rage interrupter when I had little kids was “Love is patient, love is kind” repeated over and over to interrupt my MAD. The mantra would pull back my anger so I wouldn’t say or do something I’d later regret. Find an action or phrase you can use to replace angry emotions.
When mad is coming on, use a rage interrupter to calm your anger. Identify the emotion that sparked the anger. Then determine what you need to overcome the feelings of anger. Self-control is an attribute you’ll be glad you modeled for your kids!
Get your whole family into Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Help your kids to come up with a personal rage interrupter too. Everyone can benefit from taking charge of one’s emotions. Make the best of this time at home with your family.
I will continue to encourage you and your family with ideas and resources on the Faith First Parent FaceBook page. Look for ❤️ANOTHER GOOD IDEA❤️ posts. Av
1. Lori Wildenberg & Becky Danielson, Raising Little Kids with Big Love, Friendswood: Bold Vision Books, 2014, p.120.
2. Lori Wildenberg & Becky Danielson, Raising Little Kids with Big Love, Friendswood: Bold Vision Books, 2014, p.121.
You can read more about rage interrupters in Raising Little Kids with Big Love and Raising Big Kids with Supernatural Love.
© 2020 Becky Danielson. All rights reserved.
Photo by Christian Fregnan on Unsplash