Anger is a natural, healthy emotion. Anger is an instinctive reaction to threats and it has its benefits. Some level of anger is required for our survival. 

Understanding that anger only becomes a problem when you can’t control it, causing you to say or do things you’ll later regret. Uncontrolled rage is harmful to both your physical and mental health. It can also quickly escalate into verbal or physical violence, causing harm to yourself and those around you.

Did you know there are 5 types of anger communication styles?

They include: 

Aggressive Anger. A person using this style of anger communication often feels the need to be in control of themselves, other people, and situations. To get what they want, people in this category frequently employ sarcasm, humiliation, menacing criticism, complaints, verbal or physical abuse, and threats.

Passive Anger. Passive anger is characterized by a desire to avoid conflict and confrontation. So, a person with a passive anger style works hard to avoid hurting others because it makes them feel guilty. They also avoid provoking others in order to avoid feeling uncomfortable.

Passive-Aggressive Anger. A person with passive-aggressive anger style is not as outwardly aggressive towards others as the aggressive style, and they also do not want to avoid conflict as the passive style does. Instead, when they are angry, they may employ the silent treatment, withhold their love, affection, and attention, gossip, or refuse to cooperate. In a way, passive-aggressive anger is a lot like gaslighting. When asked what is wrong, they frequently say “nothing,” despite the fact that their body language or behavior clearly indicates that something is wrong.

Projective-Aggressive Anger. People who use the passive-aggressive anger style may appear passive, but they are not. Since they are afraid to admit or express their anger, they tend to project it onto others. They may try to persuade others to act out their rage for them. They may tell you that you appear agitated when you are not.
Assertive Anger. People with an assertive anger style often express their needs in a straightforward, direct, and honest manner, rather than waiting for others to read their minds. Simultaneously, they consider the emotions and desires of others. They value themselves and expect others to treat them with dignity and respect.

How do you know if you are struggling with anger management issues?

Losing your cool every now and then does not indicate that you have anger management issues. However, if you do find yourself experiencing most, if not all of the following physical and emotional symptoms below, then you may be struggling with anger management issues.

Physical symptoms include:

• Increased blood pressure
• Increased heart rate
• Chest tightness
• Recurring headache or migraine
• Muscle tension

Emotional symptoms include:

• Irritability
• Frustration
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Guilt

A few tricks to help you tame your temper

The ideal aim of anger management is to control and regulate anger so that it does not cause further complications. Anger management does not mean you never get to express your frustration and hurt. It is imperative that you learn to express your anger in a healthy way. Without further ado, here are some tips and tricks to help you tame your temper

1. Get familiar with the things that trigger you.
2. Use the techniques below to control or release your rage; 
   • Deep breathing techniques. They are used to initiate the relaxation response, a state of physiological calm and release
   • Use distraction techniques like dancing, having a shower, journaling, physical exercise, etc.
   • Practicing meditation, or a form of meditation where you concentrate on shallow breathing, or breathing in and out, may help.
   • Repeat a mantra that works (example: “You’ll be okay”, “try to relax”)
   • Learning to be assertive by communicating your hurt and frustration.

Don’t wait for these emotions to take control of your life. If you need help maintaining control or you desire professional help, click here. There are people available to listen and offer assistance.

The post How To Deal With Anger Management Issues appeared first on Project Covid.

Expose yourself to too much chronic stress and you’re putting yourself at significant risk of a range of health challenges. In fact, experts say that stress is directly connected to many of the main causes of premature death.

The good news is that there are various ways you can begin to cut down on stress, from exercising to changing your routine.

However, before you get started, it’s important to be able to recognize the symptoms of stress.

Be aware of these red flags:

TOOTH OR JAW PAIN

Yes, stress does affect your teeth, more than you might think.  If you’ve noticed soreness in your jaw or pain in your gums, then it might be because you’re dealing with feelings of stress.

Grinding your teeth is often something that you may not even realize you’ve been doing until you get to the dentist, and they berate you for signs of bruxism.

If you do notice signs of discomfort in your jaw, check with your dentist to ensure that you’re doing everything you can to protect your teeth.

MEMORY IS GETTING WORSE FROM STRESS

As your schedule becomes more overwhelming, and you end up with more things to think about each day, it’s easy to brush off issues with forgetfulness. However, if your memory is really letting you down lately, it could be because of stress.

When you’re putting your brain under too much pressure, you also expose the muscle to a lot of extra work. This means that you end up getting frazzled or burning out a lot faster.

Paying attention to where you lose track of your train of thought could show you where you have too much on your plate. It might be time to slow down.

YOUR DIGESTION ISN’T RIGHT

Digestive health and stress are closely connected. You might have noticed during stressful periods in the past that you tend to have challenges with heartburn, diarrhea, and constipation. These are all common gastrointestinal symptoms of stress.

Your stomach will often churn and feel uncomfortable when you’re stressed because feelings of anxiety cause the body to produce additional digestive acid.

These feelings can also mean that you don’t empty food from your stomach as quickly as you should, which leads to cramping, gas, and bloating.

YOU’RE ALWAYS THIRSTY 

If you’re constantly suffering from a major thirst, it’s worth speaking to a doctor. Excessive thirst can be a sign of things like diabetes. However, you could also be dehydrated because of excess stress.

That’s because stress causes your body to pump out extra hormones from your adrenal glands. Those glands are also responsible for the hormones that regulate the fluid levels in your body, as well as electrolytes.

If your adrenal glands are worn out, then the body might feel like it needs more hydration when it really doesn’t. Although upping your H2O intake shouldn’t cause any problems, it’s still a sign of a long-term problem. You should try to rectify this.

YOUR MUSCLES ARE SORE BECAUSE OF STRESS

Sore muscles often happen as a result of tension. If you’re under a ton of stress, your body responds by involuntarily tensing up. This can gradually lead to more body pain over time, because your muscles aren’t used to being under that much strain.

When your body is in fight or flight mode, this produces excess cortisol too, causing more tensing.

The same way you suffer from soreness from grinding your teeth, you could experience soreness elsewhere in your body. This is because you’re placing more pressure on your muscles. A good massage or a hot bath might help in the shorter term, but eventually you’ll need to tackle stress.

YOUR SLEEP IS MESSED UP

If you’re having trouble with falling asleep at night, you may be stressed. This makes it harder for you to relax.

It’s likely that you spend a lot of time thinking about the things that worry you when you’re in bed. After all, there’s nothing else to take your mind off those worries.

You might also notice that you’re having more odd dreams because of your stress.

On the other hand, some people experience a desire to sleep more often when they’re stressed.

This is an indication that you’re not just suffering from stress, but also having issues with anxiety and depression too. Consider speaking to your doctor about these issues. They should be able to offer some personalized guidance. 

As you can see, it’s critical to your physical/mental health and wellbeing that you learn to relieve stress. Find self-care and relaxation activities that work for you and partake in these activities regularly. Make it a priority to take care of yourself by reducing your stress.

-Redox.

The post 6 SYMPTOMS OF CHRONIC STRESS TO BE AWARE OF appeared first on Project Covid.

A Case of Selfishness

I heard the story of Faith who constantly calls on her friends to help her when she needs assistance. She has no empathy for their personal needs and gets angry when she doesn’t get what she wants. But whenever her friends are in need, Faith is nowhere to be found. She suddenly disappears and is very busy. This happens every time.

A Case of Self-care

Let’s reimagine Faith as a person who regularly calls her friends for help when she’s in need. She makes sure she isn’t being a bother, thinks about their personal needs and brings it up to them just to be sure she’s not stepping on boundaries, and graciously understands when they are unavailable.

Faith is equally always available to them except for selective occasions where she feels that their needs at that point are conflicting with her own priorities. She would not put her mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing on the line to meet the needs of others and hope they don’t do the same to meet hers.

The difference between self-care and selfishness

Selfcare Benefits Everyone, Selfishness benefits one

Have you heard the saying that ‘you cannot pour from an empty cup’? Self-care is you filling up your cup so that you can be good enough to pour into the cups of others. Doing things to take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health would do the following.

1.       Ensure that you do not become too far gone to be of help to yourself or others (physical, mental, or emotional breakdown)

2.       Help you to feel at peace with yourself enough to pursue a healthy relationship with the people in your life.

3.       Give you the centring to continue to be the best of yourself.

Selfishness on the other hand would alienate others completely. Whilst you are practising self-care so that you can continue to be useful to others, a selfish person only knows the words ‘I, Me, and Myself’.

Self-care is necessary to fulfil your potential and achieve your goals, selfishness deprives you of that

While self-care is a core part of figuring yourself out, understanding yourself, and fulfilling your core needs in achieving your potential as a person, selfishness robs you of having a supportive community that would aid you in fulfilling your potential.

The intention of self-care is to care for yourself, not like selfishness that harms or takes away from others

We all know that selfish acts tend to take away from others or harm others. Self-care does not seek to harm or take away from others. In fact, when you consider the fact that self-care is about filling up your cup so that you can be able to fill up the cups of others, you realise that self-care is equally for the benefit of others. 

In conclusion, although you may not consciously be thinking of the benefits to others when you choose to prioritize self-care, practising self-care is in itself something that benefits everyone and therefore, should not be tagged selfish.

If you love this article, hit the share button, thanks.

-Ebahi

Read more on self-care

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The digital world vs the real world

There’s no denying the fact that it’s easy to set unrealistic goals with the pressure of social media. However, one should note that there’s the digital world and then there’s the real world. Most of us can agree that social media contributes greatly to increased stress levels, anxiety, and depression amongst others- behavioural experts have emphasized this repeatedly. A lot of people are cyberbullied. More so, there is social comparison, phone addiction, and yeah, pressure to blow! While social media helps the world stay connected, taking regular breaks is important to disconnect from its disturbing negatives.

I doubt there is a set time for how long a social media break should last but I think it’s a matter of taking all the time one needs to participate in other real-life activities that help to refresh the mind and perhaps, to self-reflect. 

To wrap this up, be intentional about building connections with very supportive family and friends as this aids self-care. As human beings, building resilience and a healthy state of mind are essential if we must enjoy and win in our lifetime. Please take care of your mental health. Rooting for you! 

-Kimberly Ubiebor. 

The post Living In a Fast-paced World- My Two Cents on Self-care. appeared first on Project Covid.