Tame That Temper - A Lesson on Anger for Teens

Anger is a normal, healthy emotion, and one of the most powerful emotions we experience.  However, anger can be quite destructive if not appropriately controlled or managed. Anger can damage our relationships, our homes, and our lives in general. Anger can cause us to take actions that we later regret. After we understand how other emotions can come into play with feeling anger, we will learn how to manage this strong emotion.

Anger is a secondary emotion. This means that often, if not always, visible anger stems from other emotions hidden beneath the surface. In this class, we will discuss how our other emotions (embarrassment, frustration, etc) can present as anger. This is called the anger iceberg, and it means that you see the tip of the iceberg (which is the visible anger), but you don't see the other emotions hidden down deep. If we really take a look at the anger we are experience, we are often surprised to find that there are other emotions at play.

It is not healthy to hold in our anger. Anger must be released, or it will spew out without our control. Uncontrolled anger is dangerous. In this class, we will discuss healthy and safe ways to let our anger out. We want to control our anger before our anger controls us. I will be offering many different coping methods.

This is a very personal journey of understanding, because it is my belief that in order to manage or control something, we must first understand it.

Specifically, we will be learning: 

Week One:
- What is anger?
- Recognizing anger in ourselves and others

Week Two:
- How can anger be positive?
- Fight or flight reaction
- Why it is important to tame our temper

Week Three:
- How anger is like a mask
- The anger iceberg
- Anger triggers
- The anger thermometer 

Week Four:
- Anger management techniques
- Coping skills 

I HIGHLY recommend parents be available and go through this course with their children. Anger is an incredibly sensitive topic, and children often get emotional while completing this course. Parents have also found that they develop a bond with their child while completing this course, and also learn things about their children that they didn't know! 

I will be providing a few extra PDF activities that can be used as a supplement to the course.