A lot of your students deal with anger in their lives. The anger can come from many different places, and it can be expressed in a lot of different ways. Here are a few ways you should encourage your students to control and get rid of their anger.
Write it Down
A great way to control your anger and also find where your anger comes from is by simply using a Journal or diary to take notes about what is happening in life. Some students may find this as a natural way to express themselves and may already be using a journal or diary. One way to encourage writing in a journal is to have each student prepare one page of journaling per week to share with the rest of the youth group. The journal is meant to be private, but by having a homework assignment of one entry per week that is public and to be shared with the rest of the group, it will keep the idea of journaling their thoughts and emotions at the forefront of their mind throughout the week.
Gain Control
Another way to help your students through anger is to repeatedly encourage them to calm down, breathe deeply, and pray. The thought behind this is that in situations that we cannot control, we sometimes get angry. So put yourself in a place that you can control. Unless there is something very wrong in the human body and we are under severe distress, everyone can control their breathing. So by controlling your breathing, taking deep breaths, relaxing, and simply saying a prayer to yourself, you can go from a state of anger to a state of calm in a matter of minutes.
Move Around
Another way to work off anger and stress is to participate in physical activity. A lot of teens today live a sedentary lifestyle. At school they sit in the classroom for most of the day listening to their teachers. On top of that a lot of schools are cutting back on physical activity by cutting out gym classes and extracurricular sports because of budget concerns. So it is not rare for a student to be sitting all day at school and then come home and sit in front of the computer or TV for the rest of the day. Encouraging your students to take part in physical activity such as walking or running can help put them in a positive mindset. Instead of having your youth group meeting indoors take advantage of nice weather and have your group meeting in a local park or at the local walking trail.
Talk about it
Another great way to deal with anger is by communicating to others your feelings and emotions. The closer your group becomes encouraged them to open up and share about what they are feeling on a day-to-day basis. By having an avenue to express your feelings to other people is a freeing experience, so if your youth group is comfortable enough encourage them to share their thoughts and emotions with each other.
