Anger Management: Can Dogs Calm Your Storm?
Those struggling with anger management may not know how helpful a canine companion can be. Dogs offer exceptional support to anyone living with emotional regulation issues, and their presence offers a range of benefits to aid in anger recovery.
The best options for managing anger with a supportive furry friend include animal-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy sessions and companion animal programs. Those struggling with difficult emotions should understand the basic cognitive approaches for anger and the benefits of working with dogs (whether their own pet or a therapeutic animal).
Triggers: Patterns That Inflame
The first step in managing anger is to identify your triggers and understand your options for emotional regulation and healthy expressions. Identifying what situations, people, or places trigger anger makes it easier to prepare beforehand and cope in the moment.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques, such as mindfulness and relaxation, are effective tools for coping with triggers through changes in behavior.
Calming Techniques
Those undergoing CBT for anger management often learn calming techniques to use in the moment of frustration, which a supportive dog can help with. These techniques often include distractions or mindfulness exercises. Positive alternatives to outbursts, visualizations, and breathing techniques are all common mindfulness practices designed to bring awareness to the present moment and to allow negative emotions to be as transient as possible.
The goal is to treat anger as a passing event that temporarily disrupts one’s emotional state but will not cause permanent change. Thus, people struggling with anger can avoid inappropriate aggression and learn to move through their emotions more comfortably and sustainably.
Dogs Can Encourage Mindful Moments
Supportive pets can learn basic signals to support you on your mindfulness journey. For instance, support dogs can learn to respond to your mood by gathering their leash and encouraging you to take a mindfulness walk. Walks are powerful tools for de-escalating difficult emotions, and such physical activity is an important part of staying healthy overall (which improves the mental health of both dogs and humans).
Dogs can also nudge or lick their owners during moments of anger to distract them and provide a positive outlet for their emotions. Additionally, spending time with a dog may aid in stress reduction, decreasing anger levels while helping you prevent major outbursts.
These approaches can also benefit those without a pet if they have access to animal-assisted therapy. Even short sessions with a dog can help those struggling with anger to feel more like themselves and process their emotions safely and comfortably.
Calm the Storm With Unleashed Counseling
If you’re trying to figure out how to manage your anger, consult Unleashed Counseling about animal-assisted therapy and companion animal options. Our experienced psychotherapists can support you and your pet on the journey to anger management, or help you access therapy with other supportive animals (including dogs and bunnies).
Take the first steps for your mental health today.To learn more about how dogs can assist your psychological growth, email us at [email protected] or schedule an intake appointment online.