Mandatory Course on Anger Management in High School, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The teen stage is a peak of many changes in a person’s life. It is characterized by physical, hormonal, emotional and mental development and change. Many teens discover self and are curious to discover and experiment on things. The process of self discovery and experimentation bring about feelings of frustration, depression or trauma, threat, rejection, loss and neglect by others. Thus many teens will translate these feelings into anger. They may victimize themselves with this anger or vent it onto other people like their parents, siblings or peers, and teachers (Mills, 2005).

Analysis of Teen Violence From Anger

According to John Watson (2009), teens will first show signs of anger problem before turning to teen violence. Occasional anger is normal for teenagers, but frequent anger tantrums show a hypersensitive teen with a growing anger problem. Early signs of anger may be depicted by a person in as early six years old. This becomes fully blown in the teenage years. The signs of anger problem include; Quick temper over small arguments, Victimization or teasing by others, Physical defense in arguments, Abuse of drugs and alcohol, Destructive attitude towards  inanimate objects, Suicidal attempts, Cruelty to animals, Hate and unpleasantness towards others and Avoidance of responsibility.

Anger is a natural response towards pain. People will respond through anger to avoid pain, responsibility, embarrassment, or vulnerability. Anger will therefore create a feeling of self justification, shifting of blame, moral power and need of apology, superiority and self pride.

Many teens will want to be proved right and not wrong in their opinions. Most of these opinions conflict with those they interact with, and therefore insinuate feeling s of negativity and hence anger. They view others to be suppressing their ideas and will counteract through rebellion and violence. Teens see themselves as open-minded and therefore change agents and liberals, while the rest, especially their teachers and parents are narrow-minded therefore conservative. It is the many change processes that they go through that throws them into confusion in their quest for self realization and discovery of the world.

How to Cope With Anger

Anger is a destructive delusion and does more harm than good, especially if it is out of misunderstanding. It serves no purpose at all since it is based on an unrealistic mind that is an exaggerated, faulty mental image. Anger is usually within the frames of our mind and responds at the slightest provocation. Teens who acknowledge the harmful effects of anger to them and others will help them be patient at any anger-triggering provocations.

In order to cope with anger, we must first watch our minds for any preparedness for anger before it hits a target. Teens should also learn to practice patience as a way of life; the earlier practiced the better, to reduce chances of angry adults (Rasch, 2008). Teens should realize that they are not exempted from difficulties and thus should take a conscious effort to work towards a solution after indentifying the problem. Solutions to problem are not always quick solutions, as we desire, thus patience is vital in coping with anger.

Parental Responsibility

A teen’s parent must indentify the anger problem and know what its likely causes are like frustration and fear of rejection. This will help the teen go through the anger management process and avoid future incidences of teen violence. The parent can offer help by: Love and support the teen especially when facing crisis, Avoid anger triggers in conversations and have confrontations resolved calmly, Teaching your teen to control anger and not put it off limits that hurt self and others, Show your teen that anger is emotionally consuming and has no positive results, Seek professional help and counseling if the teen is willing and admits the anger problem within (Chandler, Tiffany 2009).

A Walk Through the County Jail

Common anger-reducing activities for self help include meditation, exercise, jotting down thoughts and feelings, listening to music, and talking walks. Visiting jails helps teens get exposed to people who have not been able to manage their anger and has reached escalating levels .As a result others have become victims through robbery with violence, rape, murder, and homicide, that anger becomes a state concern. Thus anger becomes a destructive emotion when turned physical on targets and therefore deserves punishment (National Youth Violence 2009)

Tools to Control Anger and Channel It in a Productive Manner

According to Hansel man (2001), Anger is a hurting experience to the person experiencing it and its victims. An angry person may justify it but aggressive action is not always lawfully. Thus complete avoidance of anger is important. Steps to control anger include, Reduce stress before it turns to anger, Learn to see things on the perspective of others, Respond to anger triggers rather than react, Decide how long to hold onto anger and when to resolve it, Avoid hostility in conversations, Adjust expectations and predictions, Embrace forgiveness and at least accept others, Retreat and rethink things over (Fiore & Novick, 2005).

In conclusion, anger management should be taught to high school teens before they graduate for devastating effects it can bring in society, both to the person and his victims.

References

Fiore & Novick, ( 2005), Anger Management for 21^st century 1^st Edition. New York Macmillan Publishers.

Mills, Harry(2005).Psychology of Anger. 3^rd Edition. New York: Macmillan Publishers,

John Watson (2009), Analyzing Teen anger management and prevention. Retrieved 9th September 2008 from  http://www.teenhelp.com/teen-violence/gettting-help-violence.html

National Youth Violence (2009), National Youth Violence Prevention Centre. Retrieved 10^th October 2009, from http://www.teenhelp.com/teenviolence/teen-violence-statistics.html

Rasch William (2008), Anger management: The New Centennial Review, (8.1). Pp.57-79

Hansel man J.L (2001), child and adolescents group therapy, (11.4). Pp.159-195

Chandler, Tiffany (2009), American Society of Criminology. Anger Management Training with students placed in an alternative School Setting.  Retrieved November 13^th 2009, from Http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p201896_index.html