Angry

For example, if someone hurts you or treats you or someone you love unfairly, you have every right to feel angry about it. At times, that anger can help you to begin to do something about it.

You might feel angry because:

• You have to do something you don’t want to do
• You feel like something is unfair
• You feel ill and think you are missing out on fun stuff
• You are tired
• Someone has hurt you or has been angry with you

Feeling angry is difficult and it is more than feeling cross or grumpy. It affects your whole body and some children say they feel like they are going to 'explode with crossness' when they are angry!

Knowing how to behave when you still feel angry is hard. Sometimes, you can make the wrong choices and behave in ways that hurt other people or get you in trouble if you are still angry.

The best thing to do is to try to calm down first. Talking about what made us angry in the first place is easier when you feel calm and it is a good thing to learn.

You might find these things useful when you feel angry:

• Going for a walk or doing some sport
• Reading a book
• Watching fish swim about
• Holding your wrists under a tap of cold running water and closing your eyes for a while
• Shouting into your pillow and then lying down for a bit

Sometimes you might need help to find ways to calm down. Often there are people in schools whose job is to help children to find ways of calming down.

It is good to ask for help. The quicker you can find help to calm down when you start to feel angry, the better. You'll be able to calm down by yourself and think clearly about what made you angry in the first place and then what to do about it.

To find ways of calming down you might ask for help from:

• Someone in your family who you trust
• A member of staff (teacher or mentor) who you trust at school
• Phone a helpline for children like Childline (0800 1111)