/ 13 May 2010

Anger Management 101

Anger Management 101

So the verdict is out, and the sentence has been handed down. Julius Malema pleaded guilty to the charge of publicly criticising President Zuma.

The other three charges — relating to his Zimbabwe statements, the Jonah Fisher incident, and his continued public renditions of struggle ditty “Shoot the Boer” – were dropped in terms of a plea bargain. Part of his punishment is to attend anger management classes. We take a closer look at what JuJu has to look forward to in his therapy sessions.

Anger: we all know the feeling. Your heart begins to pound, your palms get sweaty, your whole body tenses and your mind fills with a red mist, blocking your ability to think clearly. You may shout. Or throw things, or hit someone. You may grow icily still, turning the rage inward on yourself. You will probably say and do things you will later regret.

The intensity of the feeling varies from person to person, but for some people, their anger can become a serious problem. Nazrana Jassat, anger, stress and emotional management coach for the Anger & Stress Management Centre South Africa, says getting people to admit they have a problem with rage is the biggest part of the process.

“A lot of people are in denial; they don’t believe they have a problem. So the first step is to develop self-awareness. Anger happens so quickly, but once people accept what’s going on and take responsibility for themselves, they can then move forward to practical ways of dealing with it,” she explains.

Tailored therapy
Jassat gives therapy to individuals, couples, families, and groups. She uses a set programme that takes four to six sessions to implement, but says that a lot of the therapy is tailored according to the needs of the person.

“There are so many reasons for anger, it’s never just a feeling on its own. It could be the result of hurt, which is a weakening emotion, so it’s replaced with anger, in self-defence. It could be triggered in the moment, by external factors, or it could be historical: something that happened in a person’s past that he or she is not even aware of. Everyone is different, and has different challenges.”

Adele Neveling works for the consultancy company NDJ Consultants and gives both group workshops and individual sessions on anger management. “We teach them to identify their anger, where it comes from. We also teach them basic life skills, how to deal with their emotions. Often it’s more about frustration than anger,” she says. “Once people can identify their anger, they can take steps to control it.” Neveling explains the difference between responding and reacting: “When you react in anger, you’re full of emotion and you can’t be objective. But when you respond, it’s not emotional, and you can look at the situation objectively. We teach people the difference.”

So given that Malema’s previous public behaviour includes kicking a journalist out of a media briefing after shouting at him and calling him names, does he have an anger management problem? How would Neveling go about treating Malema, if he were her client?

“In my opinion, what is seen [by Malema’s behaviour] can be attributed to anger; it can also be attributed to not being in control. If you are used to being in control, and then you lose that control, one way to express your frustration is by lashing out.”

Juju’s real problem
“I would treat him exactly the same way as anyone else: look at the root causes of his faulty behaviour, try to find the real problem behind his anger,” she adds.

Says Jassat: “Anger management is a life process; there’s no quick fix. Anger is a behaviour that has been learnt – they need to unlearn it, and it won’t happen overnight. A person has to want to change, that’s the key. It’s one thing to be aware of your behaviour, but unless you implement the tools to deal with it, there’s no point.”

Malema’s attack on BBC journalist Jonah Fisher