22 • MODULE SIX: COPING WITH EMOTIONS
- Talk to a friend before it becomes too late to handle the anger;
- Say to your self again and again, “I will not get mad, yes I can do it, I can control myself;”
- Be assertive; and/or
- Go for a walk, listen to music, run or do a vigorous exercise.
Do not forget to congratulate yourself if you succeed.
- End the session through a guided meditation.
Close your eyes – Relax – Feel the body loosen; your shoulders, legs, arms and neck – Take a
deep breath and do it again – Now feel your anger – it is a wave. Sometimes it is a big wave and
sometimes it is a small wave – Feel the hurt and say to yourself you no longer want to feel the
hurt -- Make your anger very small and let it go away in the distance – Now feel inside you – You
feel very calm – You can handle anything. You can control your anger – Slowly now open your
eyes. When you open tell yourself that you can do it and you will do it.
Adaptation
For younger children:
Ask the children to identify their anger response with a firecracker of their choice, and demonstrate why
they chose that firecracker. Make a group of the children who have identified the same firecrackers, and
ask them to role play how their anger response sounds. Give them a few minutes to think of sentences
to speak in this manner. Also ask children to illustrate how others respond to their anger outburst.
Discuss with the children the ways in which they can control their anger and express it in safe ways.
Ask them to repeat the role play using the new techniques learned.Review
Ask the children how they felt and what they have learned. How do they normally behave? What
can they do to control their normal anger response? What do their friends do? Who can help?
Discuss the most appropriate reaction.For Older Children:
Are they always like the ‘firecracker’ they identified with or do the circumstances also affect their
response? What circumstances change their response? Who influences them? Do they have
positive role models? What positive steps would they like to take for themselves? Establish a
contract with yourself to change the way you behave. How has the new behavior changed your life?Linking Learning With Life
Ask the children to set a personal goal to manage their anger until next week and to report back to
the group what technique they used.