Anger Management: The End!: Final Post!!

I really did not make very much progress with my anger issues. There was some spotty progress here and there, but I think it was more dumb luck or just my mood on a certain day than it was concrete progress with my anger. Some things worked for me in certain situations, but only sometimes. For instance, when I got into a fight with my friend it helped to talk to my mom about it and vent, but when something school or teacher or stranger related pissed me off, talking about it didn't help, it just made me infuriated all over again.

I learned a few things about myself in this process. Well, really, there were things that I suspected, but were confirmed. For example, I am NOT a text book case. I can't read a book that says here you go this is how you manage your anger, and have it work. I cannot follow any plan that works for "the average joe." Exercise works because it makes more endorphins flow through my body, this is biological, of course it happens. It doesn't make me less angry, it just makes me happier when I'm done working out and I feel "lighter" for a while. There is nothing magical about it. I am Jenna, I am not the average American citizen, in fact I'd like to think that I'm quite different from the average person. I have my own brain that self-help books know literally nothing about. I can't fit into a certain category of anger because there is no mold that I'm made of that you can shove me back into.

If I were to give someone advice about their anger issues, I would tell them to do nothing about it at all. Anger is a natural part of life and there's nothing you can do about it. Just deal with it and move on with your life. Accept it and take it in as a part of who you are. Live it. Love it. Embrace it.

Anger Management: The End!: Post 20

Fruits and veggies are a no go. Throw in an apple after school. A few strawberries at lunch. And peas, carrots or string beans at dinner. I've been eating them for a few days now, but I seem to be no better (also no worse) than I was with just plain exercise. Although, I mean, side effect, I seem to have been addicted to this exercise nonsense. It's really entertaining. And that's a plus for my lifestyle in general, but maybe not this project.

So fruits and veggies are off the list.

Anger Management: The End!: Post 19

More proactive anger management. It's the best kind I think.

"Your food diet is also important. Avoid red meat, liquor and fried fats. Eat healthy foods that free up your colon and cool your digestive system. Fresh vegetables and cold fruits help your brain release chemicals which cheer you up and make you feel happier. Look to not eat foods which you notice make you feel depressed or slow. And definitely stay away from liquor which taxes your liver and plays with your emotions." from http://www.articlesbase.com/self-improvement-articles/anger-management-how-to-control-your-anger-in-3-quick-steps-770267.html

So I need to eat healthier. More fruits and more veggies. Hopefully it helps.

Anger Management: The End: Post 18!

So today. It was really a crappy day. I presented an awful English presentation. And then on my way to this class some freshman was behind me kicking an empty water bottle at my heels. Really. It was one of the most annoying things that's happened to me in a while. Who does that? How immature do you have to be? So here I am thinking, eh he'll stop when he realizes he's acting like a four year old. But no. No, he didn't. So I turned around and I told him "Kick that at me one more time and I swear I'll kill you." And he stopped. Are death threats appropriate? Nah, probably not. But it worked.

So yeah. Setbacks galore. But ya know. They happen. So if my progress is spotty is it really progress at all? Is exercise really working? Dude, I don't even know.

Anger Management: The End!: Post 17

Saw that really stupid annoying person in the hallway today and I didn't even get that tingly feeling in my hand like when I want to punch someone in the face. Improvement? I think so.

Also. My life feels less cluttered now. We've been at this exercise thing for over a week. Maybe the Buddhists are right. I wasn't really happy before. How depressing. But alas, it isn't, because now I am.

Anger Management: The Middle: Post 16

I think there will always be certain people who make me angry no matter how much I work out. There's this one person, who shall remain nameless, clearly. But this person is honestly the stupidest person I've met in my life. Honestly, stupid people just really bother me. Anything after this point before the end of this rant can be ignored. (It sounds bad, but I've said it before, and if you have absolutely no common sense and you expect daddy to pay your way through life, then you just have another thing coming. I hope you go to college and you realize that there's a world out there that doesn't revolve around your life and I hope you fail miserably so you can get a reality check. Not because I want you to be a better person or what not, but just because you'll whine and cry for months before you realize, oh wait, people here don't care if I want to go shopping and they need to finish my project for me. Clearly, they're not going to do it. Move on with your life and get this thing that most people like to call "common sense.")

Rant. Ends. Here.

But seriously, I think the problem with overcoming anger issues is realizing that some anger is normal. This type of anger will not change. When I see this person, I will still be infuriated for no apparent reason. Not changing.

Anger Management: The Middle: Post 15

I took a quiz today at mentalhealth.net (http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=3396&cn=116). They told me that if I answered more than 10 of their questions "true," then I had severe anger problems, and I answered 17 of them true. So does this mean that even if I exercise, I still have anger issues? I'm confused...

Anger Management: The Middle: Post 14

I have a terrible English group. We're working on a group project about 1984 by George Orwell and no one in my group even read the book. I'm supposed to be the group leader and it just isn't working. It made me very angry, you know. Trouble is, I'm sick so it's not so easy to work out without having to fall on the ground and wheeze for air. So what's a girl to do?

Anger Management: The Middle: Post 13

Setback. You just announced that blogs that were a couple sentences long were acceptable, even preferred. Now I wasted all that time writing longer blogs because it seemed like shorter ones weren't really good enough. This sucks. Also makes me angry. Gotta go home and work out.

Anger Management -- The Middle: Post 12

It's official, for the second day in a row, exercise has helped me. So here's what I say. Throw out the books. Throw out the buddhism. Forget triggers and stress balls and 10 step programs to relieve my anger and stress. Screw it all. Good old fashion exercise is the way to go. It's ironic how after all of that work of weeding through those annoying books and googling all of this self-help stuff, all I needed to do was go for a run around the block. Maybe it's just psychological that it's helping me, but I don't really care.
Normally, I'd be pissed that I'd gone through all of that effort just to find out that something so simple would work, but you know what, I'm not. And that's progress. Yippee.

Anger Management -- The Middle: Post 11

Today is a glorious day. Let me tell you. Yesterday I went home and I worked out and then I had dance class for an hour and a half. And I have not felt angry once today. Honestly, it's wonderful. I found something that works. Legitimately works. I'm happy because I worked out and I'm happy because I'm not angry, so I'm super happy. Like really happy. So today is one of those days where I'm at an all time high, at least for this project. So it's good. I now have a renewed sense of gusto for this too. It doesn't even matter what happens today, really, because it was just really good.
So thank you Mayo Clinic, you really helped.

Anger Management -- The Middle: Post 10

Today, I was looking through websites instead of my books for a change of pace. I came across some great advice on MayoClinic on their page http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/anger-management/MH00102. They suggested a few ways of relieving inner tension. One of their best suggestions was to exercise since it releases endorphins to your brain and makes you naturally happier. I really liked this tip because, other than avoiding things that make me angry, this is one of the only tips I've found that I can use BEFORE I get angry. It's something that, in theory, if I do it often, it should make me less tense and I'll get angry less often. Not to mention, it's good for you. So it's a double good.
In fact, I HAVE noticed that since I stopped having parking on campus and I've been walking fifteen minutes from my car to the school and then fifteen minutes back again, I've felt slightly less tense. Even though it's freezing cold outside. But then again, I could just be thinking that because I want it to be true.

Anger Management -- The Middle -- Post 9

I realized something when I was writing up my self-evaluation thingamabob about how far I've come on my project. You asked what the best tip I found was, and I wrote it down, to restate, it was that I should vent about my anger to someone who isn't connected to the situation so that no harm can come of it. It dawned on me why I liked this tip so much! I realized why I have anger issues! (Aside from the fact that I inherited it and what not.) When people close to me do things to make me angry, I often bottle it up because I don't want to hurt them with it. So then I have all this pent up anger and then when strangers do things or I see something on TV I just get really, really, really mad about it because it hits this, like, trigger switch in my brain. Astounding, no?
So, I mean, I haven't solved anything. In fact, now there's a new problem: I bottle up my emotions. And I don't really know what to do about it. But I will look into it.

Anger Management: The Beginning -- Post 8

I've taken to more skimming through my books than reading them chunks at a time, I've found that it makes me less angry that way. So when I was skimming through my Buddist book again today (Anger by Thich Naht Hanh), I came across something interesting. Now, granted, the metaphor was actually related to war, but I thought it applied to me to. Hanh said that when you lash out in anger you wind up hurting more than just the person you're angry with. You can hurt yourself, or even just other people around you when you lash out. Now, I try not to be a selfish person and I often don't even consider "will this make me happy" when I do things. I just kind of go with the flow. So in the beginning of the book when Hanh said that when you're angry, you'll never actually be happy, it didn't really convince me to do anything about my anger, but seeing it in print (whether I already knew it or not) that other people are going to get hurt whether I mean it or not, it was a little bit of a wake up call. So I decided I'm going to take note when I get angry (which clearly I'm trying to avoid, but it'll still happen) as to other people's reactions, not just who I'm mad at. Maybe I'll be surprised at what I find.