All the rage - exploring new, healthy options for letting off steam

Feel it and talk it out. That's the very best way to deal with anger - although it's not always easy and sometimes impossible, according to psychotherapist Maria Nieri, LMFT, who will teach a class this month that offers a variety of options for resolving anger.

"Talking directly and diplomatically with the person you are angry with is ideal," she said. "Yet, there are situations - such as in the workplace or when the person is absent - when it's neither appropriate nor possible."

For many older adults, the culturally-acceptable solution has been either to ignore or deny anger. However, "denying or stuffing" or letting anger build to a boiling point are not the only options, she said.

Although anger is a basic, universal human experience, most people have difficulty handling it in a healthy way, according to the psychotherapist. "At a social level, war is the price of unresolved anger," she said. "On the personal level, it can contribute to physical illness and depression and destroy relationships."

Nieri points to evidence that anger is as physical as it is mental and emotional. For seniors, a lifetime of accumulated anger left unchecked may lead to decreased quality of life.

"There's a lot of data demonstrating how unresolved anger can affect our blood pressure, heart, muscular and digestive systems," she said.

"Most of us know the sensation of having a knot in our stomach when we are mad. We usually acquire a style of managing anger from various influences, which may not work well or might even be so destructive that we don't even like ourselves.

"Learning new, more healthful approaches to anger management may improve health and wellbeing later in life."

"All the Anger You Can't Talk About," will focus on understanding anger and exploring new ways to cope, Nieri said.

The program will be held July 22 (Tues), 7 - 8:30 p.m., at the Wellness Center. Admission is $12/$8 age 62+. Call 696 5600 to register.