Anger is a natural and sometimes automatic response when someone feels emotionally or physically threatened. Anger never occurs by itself but is preceded by painful feelings, making it a reactive emotion. Thoughts that tend to trigger anger include personal judgments, assumptions or interpretations of situations that makes one person feel that the other is trying to hurt them. These beliefs leave the person feeling threatened desiring to strike out and take action against whatever is causing the pain.

Angry people almost always feel like they are right and that their feelings are justified. Often times, people who are excessively angry think in black and white absolute terms. I am right, they are wrong. People who can be termed absolute thinkers have the characteristic of using words like every, none, best and worst. These are words and beliefs which leave no room for reconsideration.

This kind of stringent thinking can affect mental health in a negative way by leading to stress and anger. Because situations are either all or nothing, there is little room for negotiation or compromise which leads to a break down in effective communication and therefore relationships. People who are absolute thinkers often find themselves having problems in marriages, in the workplace, and with maintaining strong long-term relationships with family and friends.

As time goes by, an angry person will eventually realize that his anger is not resolving or addressing the problems that made them feel that way in the first place. Instead this constant anger ends up causing more social and health issues and a rather disruptive life.

If you are at the point where your anger has gotten the better of you and has become detrimental to your daily life, it’s time to take an anger management class online. The curriculum in anger management classes will teach you how to reduce the stress in your life that may be the root of your behavior. They also address your way of thinking and how to learn to change the conversation you are having with yourself to improve your approach to other people, situations and relationships. Individuals are constantly telling themselves things that may need some adjusting in order to respond with less angry and stressful feelings. Clients also learn the art of listening to others and understanding where they are coming from, an attribute that most absolute thinkers need to work on.

8 or 12 Hour Online anger management classes are extremely beneficial for busy business people, (both bosses and employees), military personnel, students, and stay-at-home parents. Anyone who is has a full plate of life commitments will appreciate being able to learn skills and tools to get past their angry feelings, in the comfort of their own home. Online anger classes can be taken from any computer that has web access, so a mom can sit on her laptop while her daughter takes a dance class, a manager can sit at his desk at work or a young adult can take them from the family room, at any time of day or night. There is no need to meet an appointment time or drive across town to a classroom. And, don’t be fooled by people who claim to be experts. Be sure to choose a high quality course that is designed by a licensed, practicing anger management specialist.

You will find that learning strong skills to handle your anger will help you with every difficult situation you are faced with. Giving yourself or a loved one the benefit of taking an online anger management course will reap a lifetime of rewards!

How does a person know when their angry behavior has turned into an anger management problem that needs to be addressed? We all have episodes of complete frustration in our daily lives. We might internalize the anger and harbor it quietly, we might yell at a loved one, or blow-up at someone at work. Anger is a normal expression or reaction to perceived threats to ourselves, family, friends, or property. Anger is a warning bell that tells us that something is wrong. If you are wondering if your anger has gone past what is considered acceptable behavior, the initial thought is there is probably something going on in your life that is setting off warning bells.

Here are a few quick questions to ask yourself:

• How am I feeling right now?
• Are others in your life telling you that you have a problem with anger?
• How does my anger affect those around me?
• Do you get angrier than is necessary and overwhelm or scare those around you?
• Is anger affecting your health?
• Do you think you could better handle your anger but are not sure where to start?

Anger is generally a secondary emotion to something else that is happening in your life that triggers this reaction. A key component of anger management is getting to the root of what is initially happening to create this emotion.

If you’ve reached a point in your life where you are questioning your angry behavior and are ready to learn new skills to change your way of thinking, you are ready to take an 12 hour online anger management class. The first step is to find a high quality class that you feel good about taking. Distance learning classes are a great way to initially address this behavior. Start by finding a class online that is designed by an expert in the field of anger management and offers a money back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied. Then you can proceed to take the course from the relaxed atmosphere of your own home, on your own web-based computer.

Acknowledging that you have a problem is often the greatest hurdle. Once you pick an online anger management class, you’ll be on your way to changing your life. Classes can be taken at your convenience any time of the day or night. You can sit down for one weekend, or drop-in and out of the course over a period of a couple weeks. You will be surprised at how much there is to learn about successfully controlling your anger. Classes guide you to address where the anger is stemming from and then give at least 8 specific tools to use to handle and reduce the anger. Another great aspect of online classes is that they provide complete privacy so you don’t need to get involved in a group experience if you aren’t ready to go public. However, don’t think you are completely alone in this endeavor. Look for a class in which you can contact a practicing psychotherapist to discuss any questions or concerns that you have.

If you are beginning to question your angry behavior, chances are you need help. Reach out by looking online for a quality anger management course so that you can grow in your life and create a safer, happier environment for yourself and those around you.

It is interesting to note that stress and anger often go hand-in-hand. Certain events can trigger stress or anger in individuals but the degree of these emotions has to do with how a person perceives and interprets what is happening to them. For example, two individuals who are in a rush to get to a play might have to wait a long time for their dinner bill. One person might interpret this event with stress because they are potentially going to be late, and anger at the waiter for ignoring them. This person might get hot-headed because he feels like he’s purposely being delayed and start yelling at various waiters to get the bill over immediately. The other individual might just think that the restaurant is busy and the waiters are doing their best. Quietly he addresses the waiter, pays his bill and leaves. This person avoids the stress and anger of it all by looking at the situation in a more positive light. Everyone is trying his best.

If you find yourself often stressed and angry at the world around you, there are immediate steps you can take to help reduce these unhealthy and uncomfortable emotions. First of all, what seems like the most obvious but difficult step is to try to eliminate the stressors in your life. For example, if you are always late for work because you’re fighting rush hour traffic, than try setting the alarm for a half-hour earlier and avoid the thick of it. You’ll get to work happier, more relaxed and with some time to spare. If it’s the job itself, take a look at ways to change positions within or outside the company. Take action to change the things that are causing the stress.

Laughter is also a great stress reducer. Thinking of something humorous or finding something to laugh at on the internet or television will effectively reduce stress by releasing endorphins into the bloodstream and even reduce blood pressure. Tape a late night talk show to watch prior to going to sleep to help you unwind and relieve the stress from the day. Listening to music you enjoy can also relieve stress.

Healthy living in general will help reduce an individual's stress level. Exercise, quitting smoking, and getting enough sleep are all effective ways to help the body and mind resist the urge to become stressed during certain situations. Sometimes when people are stressed after a day of work, they may drink alcohol to help them relax. Remember that one of the side-effects of alcohol is insomnia. Lack of sleep can contribute to the negative cycle.

In combination with implementing these basic techniques, online anger classes can be extremely helpful. You will learn techniques to go about changing habitual negative perceptions. Focusing more on the positive aspects of a situation can better help an individual handle a stressful situation. Positive thinking will remind the individual that things really are not as bad as they seem and allow a level of acceptance to develop more quickly. Once a level of acceptance develops, the stress and shock of a situation becomes minimized.

Investing just about 8 hours in an anger management class online will teach you skills to better handle everyday stressful situations. There are many anger management classes available, but taking them online is definitely the way to go. They are available from the comfort of your own home, on your own PC, so you can avoid having to make any specific time commitments or battle traffic. There are no appointments necessary! Taking these two stressful actions away makes taking a class online immediately lucrative. You can take the class individually or with the support of family members with complete privacy. Online classes eliminate the anxiety associated with sitting in a classroom with strangers and potentially having to share your story. Online classes are also immediately available to fulfill court mandates. Just get the approvals from your court system for a distance learning anger management class and you will be on your way to wrapping up this requirement in no time!

Maintaining a strong, healthy, honest and happy relationship with your spouse can be a difficult goal to attain, especially after years of marriage. That kind of intimacy, passion and commitment needs a strong foundation in order for it to survive. No matter how solid a couple is, there are always bumps in the road, stressful situations that arise and disagreements that test the relationship. In many relationships, one person might internalize anger for years and years until they explode with one angry conversation. Years of tension about a subject might create enough animosity to break up an otherwise stable relationship. One way to strengthen your relationship or regroup after a rocky period before it’s too late, is to take an online anger management class. You may not think that you are typically angry people or the class is necessary, but it’s a small way to show each other you still care and you will be pleasantly surprised about how much you will learn.

A basic 8 hour anger management class will have you look into what the root cause is of the building anger. You might find that you agree on where it’s stemming from, or have completely different ideas. Reviewing past situations will start a bigger conversation that will help lead to a solution. Once this is established then you will learn effective ways to communicate with each other without screaming and yelling. It might initially feel good to vent your anger loudly or violently, but in the long run this leaves you at a standstill. One side is angry, the other is hurt.

Learning to take responsibility for your feelings will help you to have more effective conversations. Challenge your own thoughts and put yourself in the shoes of your spouse. How does it feel to be on the receiving end of this high-conflict behavior? Probably not good. Classes teach empathy and why listening to your spouse’s opinion is so important. Let’s face it, one side isn’t always right in an argument and it’s important to look at your own attitude and how you can possibly be more flexible to help resolve the issue. Classes will guide you on how to compromise and meet in the middle so both sides feel like they have gained something out of the disagreement.

Another important topic that contributes to anger and is often overlooked is stress management. How do you let stress affect your relationship? Do you take it out on your partner in negative ways? Classes focus on how to deal with stress at work, at home and in life and how to reduce it. Specific tips and techniques will help the client to manage stress, overcome its negative effects and handle it a more productive way.

During online anger classes, the client will also take a look at different behaviors that contribute to underlying anger. Are you a passive-aggressive person, are you particularly defensive or have trouble accepting criticism. Learn tools to help you get past this behavior and to more clearly and calmly express your feelings to your spouse.

Classes are extremely simple to take. Just go online and register for the class length that is most convenient for you. The class will become available immediately from any web-based computer in your home, coffee house or library. There is nothing to download so you don’t need a printer available. You can sit together, any time of the day or night and review the material. It’s a learning experience that will benefit your relationship for a lifetime!

Bullying in our schools has become a national topic of discussion. It hits every grade level and can make a child feel helpless, anxious, depressed and even scared. It’s heartbreaking as a parent to see our kids go through this when our entire goal is too keep them happy and safe. What can we do as nation to address the issue? Some states are tackling it with more stringent anti-bullying laws, however, a successful individual approach is to offer our kids anger management classes.

New Jersey has recently brought the topic to the limelight once again with the announcement that there continues to be a great deal of bullying going on in their public schools. Data from individual school districts show that there were 12,024 reports of harassment, intimidation and bullying reported in the 2011-12 school year. This is the first year that the schools have had to file this report, so it will be interesting to watch comparisons in years to come.

Governor Christie approved a bill over a year ago which advocates say gives New Jersey the toughest anti-bullying law in the country. It came on the heals of the suicide of a Rutgers freshman after his roommate posted a romantic encounter between him and another man on the web. The new law requires training for public school employees, and school districts will be graded on their efforts to deal with the problem. Administrators who don’t look into and handle reports of bullying are to be disciplined and students who bully will be suspended or expelled. School employees have to report everything they hear about, even if it’s off school grounds.

Once an issue that administrators and some parents felt that kids just needed to deal with, bullying has evolved into a serious national issue. To help prevent bullying, New Jersey and other states could benefit from having districts offer or recommend online anger management classes for kids. We just don’t need to stand for it anymore! A proactive approach is key to stopping this cycle. Taking classes specifically designed for adolescents is an easy, interesting and educational way to approach the topic. Programs talk about how to get to the root of the bully’s anger and take responsibility for his actions. What are alternate ways to cope with this aggression? Students learn to better deal with stress, how to regulate their emotions and try alternate behaviors. Specific tools to use to change attitudes and harmful behaviors are taught, so the student is left with the knowledge of how he can get a point across or deal with a situation without being a bully.

These are beneficial tools for every child to be armed with at any early age. Taking the classes online offers the students privacy in their own homes and the convenience to take them wherever web service is available. Giving children the opportunity to take the class can affect current bullies by teaching them empathy, prevent future bullies and empower those feeling bullied to reach out for more help.