SCREENING FOR PROBLEMS WITH ANGER
“After checking in with myself, I realized I have some work to do to better manage my anger.” – 29, UK
Our Anger Check can serve as a screening tool to get a better sense of the frequency and intensity of anger in your life.
Each question asks about a different aspect of anger and how often it has been affecting you over the last four weeks.
Feeling anger is part of being human and is a natural response to frustration, injury, insult, or anything that threatens our physical or psychological health. For example, anger can be triggered by perceiving unfair treatment, encountering criticism, or not achieving our desires.
The spectrum of anger spans from slight irritation to intense fury. Even feelings of boredom can be considered a mild form of anger, stemming from discontent with our current circumstances or experiences.
Left uncontrolled, anger can have wide-ranging, negative impacts on our lives, including:
- Reduced physical health
- Worse mental health
- Damaged relationships with friends and family
- Missed career opportunities
After you complete and submit the Anger Check, we’ll provide some “next steps” based on your score to help you better manage and improve your anger (as well as your overall health).
HEADSUPGUYS RESEARCH
As a leading global resource on men’s mental health, HeadsUpGuys regularly conducts research to better understand issues that impact men’s mental health.
You have the option of including your Anger Check responses in our research, which will be recorded and grouped together with responses from other participants to be analysed and reported in our future research reports, academic papers and/or at conferences. We will not ask for information that can personally identify you.
Gender:
HeadsUpGuys asks about gender to help us better understand our visitors, learn more about men's mental health, and inform the creation of future content.
Your score is :
Anger Check Results
Your Anger Check score can give you a general sense of how you’re doing with managing your anger, but it’s not meant to be a diagnostic tool.
Here’s a breakdown of scores and how HeadsUpGuys can help you.
Scores under 12
A guy with a score in this range has a level of anger that is likely to be manageable through self-care activities such as:
- Maintaining healthy habits (sleep, food, physical activity, social life, sex and relationships)
- Talking with a trusted friend or family member (though talk therapy can be a big help as well)
- Completing our Managing Anger and Irritability Course (details below)
Scores 12 and over
A score in this range indicates that a guy is having issues with anger and would benefit from taking action to connect with a mental health professional to get guidance for addressing the root causes of his anger.
How HeadsUpGuys can help:
- Complete our Managing Anger and Irritability Course (details below)
- Connect with a therapist
- Learn more from our guide to Talk Therapy for Men.
- Our Therapist Directory can help you find a qualified professional therapist near you.
Note: If your anger is negatively impacting you or the people around you on a regular basis, we strongly recommend seeking professional support. Living with this level of anger can make life very unenjoyable for you and negatively impact others around you. Seeing a therapist can help you dig into issues to help you better understand what’s behind your anger and how to manage it.
ADDITIONAL TOOLS
Our Depression Self Check and Stress Test may also help to provide further context to your Anger Check score, and help guide next steps.
NEXT STEPS
For a few practical tips on handling anger, see our article on Managing Anger and Depression.
For a deeper dive into understanding anger and how to get on top of it, take our Managing Anger and Irritability Course:
- Informs you about anger and your warning signs
- Provides insight into understanding where your anger is coming from
- Teaches practical skills and strategies to address and prevent anger from taking control
Managing Anger and Irritability
Anger is one of the few emotions many guys actually express, but it often done in a way that is destructive for ourselves and those around us.
This course, which includes interactive exercises, will equip you with the tools and strategies to effectively manage your anger in healthier and more constructive ways.
Come back and track your progress
The Anger Check can be used to track your progress and monitor how your anger is affecting you.
Privacy
The Anger Check is anonymous and no personally identifying information is required to complete it. It includes an opt-in demographic section that helps inform our understanding of our visitors, the development of our content, and may be used for research purposes.
Contact information for our email newsletter (if you choose to opt-in) and your Anger Check responses are stored separately. See our terms, privacy, and conditions for more information.
References
This Anger Check is adapted from a well-researched and established scale called the Dimensions of Anger Reactions (DAR-5), developed by Dr. David Forbes.
Forbes, D., Alkemade, N., Mitchell, D., Elhai, J.D., McHugh, T., Bates, G., Novaco, R.W… Lewis, V. (2014). Utility of the dimensions of anger reactions-5 (DAR-5) scale as a brief anger measure. Depression and Anxiety, 31, 166-173. doi:10.1002/da.22148
For more information on the DAR-5, visit the Disaster Mental Health Hub.