Ever feel your anger spike before you can stop it? Hi, I’m Dr. Tom McDonagh, a psychologist at Good Therapy SF. So anger can escalate quickly, but there are ways to slow it down before it takes over. Here’s how to cool off fast when emotions are running high.
First try to notice the physical signs. A tight chest, a clenched jaw, shallow breathing. Your body often reacts before your thoughts.
Second, slow down that fight or flight response, not the argument. You can try to pause your breathing or try grounding your body because it can help to interrupt that escalation.
You can also try to create a short pause before responding. So stepping away or delaying your response often gives your fight or flight response time to help calm down.
So what’s the best thing we can do with this? Often clear communication works best once your body is calmed down. So if anger feels overwhelming or hard to control, therapy can help you understand your triggers and respond in more productive ways.
