“First Aid” Methods of Coping with Anger - Richard P Walters

Sometimes anger strikes like a headache in a television commercial and we need “fast relief.” At this moment, we have a chance to bring the anger cycle to a screeching halt, or at least to keep ourselves under control so that we don’t cause things to get worse.

The “first aid” technique will help us feel a little better. They will help us “buy some time” to settle down and plan what to do next. They are valuable to counter the effects of the fight/flight syndrome which makes it difficult to deal logically with the situation. But the first aid methods don’t take care of everything that needs to be done. We need to go beyond them to understand why we got angry in the first place and to do the things we can do to deal with those causes of anger.

What we can do depends on the circumstances we are in, so we need to know a variety of techniques to choose from. None of these, of course, is more than a temporary measure.

Let’s look at these techniques in three categories: Those that capitalize on God’s desire to help us, those that use our human willful control, and those that allow us to release some of the physical and emotional tension. Then we’ll mention a few actions and attitudes that should be avoided.

Asking for God’s Help

The first group of these methods focuses primarily on asking God for His help with our attitudes. Attitudes, which can be right or wrong, have great influence on behavior.

We can learn to recognize that God is in control. God’s sovereignty over the universe has not been over-ruled by the events that have caused our anger. God will never be overruled—He is in control! He has always known about and is allowing everything that is happening to you. Note what these verses say about the source of our strength and hope: Psalms 29:11;46:10; Matthew 11:28-29.

We can learn to pray with thanksgiving and praise. This goes beyond knowing that God is in control to exalting Him for it. The familiar opening words of the Lord’s Prayer serve well: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matt. 6:9).

© “Anger: Yours & Mine & What to do about it” published by The New York International Bible Society, USA.

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