Course description

Do you sometimes say or do things in anger that you wish you hadn't? Anger is a normal emotion, and it can be useful, but when it comes out as shouting, slammed doors or days of silence it can hurt the people around you and cause problems at home and at work. This course is a friendly, practical self-help course that helps you understand your anger and respond more calmly.

It's written for adults in the UK who want to handle anger better at home or at work. You learn what anger is, what triggers yours, how it builds and the early warning signs, calming skills for the moment, thinking skills, what sits underneath anger, assertive communication and repair, and how to handle anger at work, at home, on the road and online. You finish by writing a personal anger plan for a made-up person and comparing it with a worked model answer.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, each with a worked example, common slips, questions people often ask and a short exercise to try, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow a few made-up people, mainly Evrim, a duty manager at a leisure centre in Kettering who is learning to stop shouting at home and at work. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, example answers, a cheat sheet, worked examples and a key terms sheet, plus extras such as a get help now card, an anger diary, a triggers worksheet, a body warning signs map, a time-out plan card, a breathing and grounding card, a thought record sheet, an assertive phrases card, a repair and apology guide, a weekly check-in tracker spreadsheet, sorting sheets with answer keys and a course glossary.

What you'll learn

• Understanding anger: what anger is, why it's a normal emotion, how it shows up in your body, thoughts and behaviour, when it becomes a problem and where to get help, and your starting point.
• Triggers and patterns: common triggers and the inside factors that make them stronger, keeping an anger diary, spotting patterns, hot spots and your triggers worksheet.
• The build-up and early warning signs: how anger builds, your point of no return, warning signs in your body, thoughts, words and actions, and your warning signs map.
• Calming skills in the moment: a time out with a plan, the NHS breathing exercise, grounding and counting, leaving safely, and your calm-down kit.
• Thinking skills: how thoughts fuel anger, mind reading and jumping to conclusions, should statements and fairness, catastrophising and all-or-nothing thinking, and the thought record.
• What sits underneath: stress and pressure, sleep, hunger and pain, alcohol and drugs, past experiences, and the feelings that can sit under anger.
• Communicating assertively: passive, aggressive and assertive styles, I statements, listening when you're annoyed, disagreeing without a row, and repair and apology.
• Anger at work: difficult customers, frustration with colleagues, managers and feedback, HR routes and support, and your plan for work.
• Home, family, the road and online: relationships and families, the line between conflict and abuse, modelling calm with children, teenagers and family rows, road rage and anger online.
• Keeping it going and your final project: setbacks and slips, your long-term plan and weekly check-in, when to get more help, and a personal anger plan for a made-up person, with a worked model answer.

Who it's for

Adults who want to understand their anger and handle it more calmly, whether it shows up with a partner, with children, with colleagues and customers, on the road or online. You don't need any experience to start. A notebook or a phone note is all you need for the exercises, and the practice packs are PDF files and a spreadsheet.

What this course is, and isn't

This course is self-help education about anger. It isn't therapy or treatment, it isn't a court-ordered course or a domestic abuse perpetrator programme, and it doesn't replace help from a GP or another professional. If anger is affecting your life, talk to your GP. In England, you can also refer yourself to NHS talking therapies if you're registered with a GP and aged 18 or over (16 or over in some areas); Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland arrange talking therapies differently. Health and help line facts come from NHS, Every Mind Matters and GOV.UK pages. If anyone is in danger, call 999. For urgent mental health help, call NHS 111 and choose the mental health option in England, call NHS 111 and press 2 in Wales, call NHS 24 on 111 in Scotland, or contact your GP or call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 in Northern Ireland. Samaritans are free to call on 116 123, day or night. Evrim and every other person in the course are fictional, and so is Brookmallow Leisure Centre.

What will I learn?

• Explain what anger is, why it's a normal emotion, and the difference between feeling angry and what you do next
• Recognise when anger has become a problem, and know where to get help, including urgent help and domestic abuse helplines
• Identify your triggers, inside factors and hot spots using an anger diary
• Describe how anger builds, find your point of no return and map your early warning signs
• Use calming skills in the moment, including a planned time out, the NHS breathing exercise and grounding
• Catch and check hot thoughts, such as mind reading, should statements and catastrophising, with a thought record
• Understand how stress, sleep, hunger, pain, alcohol and past experiences affect anger, and the feelings that can sit underneath it
• Speak up assertively with I statements, listen when you're annoyed, disagree without a row and repair after a slip
• Handle anger at work, with family and children, on the road and online
• Write a personal anger plan, keep it going with a weekly check-in and know when to get more help

Frequently asked questions