Angry? There's a class for that

by Airman 1st Class Kia Atkins
35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

11/16/2012 - MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- Have you ever had one of those days where nothing seemed to be going right and someone knew exactly what buttons to push and they were not only pushing them, they were bashing them with a hammer? Maybe on a different day you would be able to deal with the situation, but this time you are seriously contemplating punching someone in the face or maybe giving them a piece of your mind.

If you feel like the anger or stress in your life is getting difficult to handle on your own or you would like to learn some techniques to help resolve stressful situations in your life, Family Advocacy can help. The anger management class teaches a variety of techniques to better cope with life's stressors.

"Something we do not advocate in anger management is to suppress your anger," said David Powell, 35th Medical Operations Squadron family advocacy outreach manager. "We advocate managing your anger by taking a time out, going for a walk, taking deep breaths, going to the gym, taking a hot bath, different thinking methods and things of that nature."

The class is offered to active duty servicemembers, Department of Defense civilians and dependents that are eighteen and older. Anger management is four classes long and starts the first Wednesday of every month.

Everyone has different ways of handling things that make them angry and some people handle it better than others, but you know yourself best, said Powell. If you feel like your anger is worse than normal, you can come by and see us, he said.

So if you're having one of those days where someone is pushing your buttons so hard that you are fighting the urge to jump over your desk and take them down, maybe you should give local anger management a shot by calling to sign up.