Dr. Gift Nwanaga, an Optometrist from the South East of Nigeria has revealed the Pros and Cons of Anger as it affects human health and relationships.
In the course of his discussion with an inmate in one of the correctional service centers in South Eastern Nigeria in 2018, He almost broke down in tears when a young man in his late 40s told him that the reason for his incarceration was because of uncontrolled anger. It happened that the young man had a fracas with someone after they left the club on a certain Friday night which resulted to a mild fight. Furiously, he landed a punch on the other person which caused the young man to slump and subsequently passed out. What a sad and unexpected ending!
According to the narratives of the young man, he was put behind bars for over 9 years awaiting trial and when his trial was concluded, he bagged 18 years in prison, making it a total of 27 years behind bars. This young man being so energetic and full of life has a daughter who was still a toddler as at the time the incident happened; now an undergraduate in the university. He also had a comfortable and rosy life before the incident, He got his wife a Mercedes 190, one of the latest cars in town as at that time and so on. He never believed that he was going to spend a very significant number of years of his life in incarceration.
According to Dr. Gift, the story was just one out of thousands of people who are befallen by same fate. He also heard a disturbing story of a man who beat a bus driver to death in Owerri, Imo State because the bus driver unintentionally scratched his Lexus Jeep. That’s quite unfortunate! In a matter of seconds, the man who killed the bus driver must have regretted all his actions that led to the death of the bus driver. He would wish he never left his house yesterday. He didn’t ever believe that he will begin his day that yesterday with innocence and end it in guilt of a case of murder. It’s very pathetic.
“Anger is a normal and healthy emotion — but it’s important to deal with it in a positive way. Uncontrolled anger can take a toll on both your health and your relationships. At one point or the other in our lives, we can get angry with the situations we find ourselves or with people around us but it’s pertinent we learn how to control our anger.” He said.
If you are one among the thousands of people struggling with anger issues, it’s a condition subject to change the moment you make the decision and determine to let it go before it ruins your life and career. Below are some tips for Anger management;
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1. THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK.
In the heat of the moment, it’s easy to say something you’ll later regret. Take a few moments to collect your thoughts before saying anything — and allow others involved in the situation to do the same.
2. BEFORE YOU EXPRESS YOUR ANGER, ENSURE YOU’RE CALM.
As soon as you’re thinking clearly, express your frustration in an assertive but non-confrontational way. State your concerns and needs clearly and directly, without hurting others or trying to control them.
3. GET SOME EXERCISE
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Physical activity can help reduce stress that can cause you to become angry. If you feel your anger escalating, get some exercise. You may decide to go for a brisk walk or run, or spend some time doing other enjoyable physical activities.
4. TAKE A TIMEOUT
Timeouts aren’t just for kids. Give yourself short breaks during times of the day that tend to be stressful. A few moments of quiet time might help you feel better prepared to handle what’s ahead without getting irritated or angry.
5. IDENTIFY POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Rather than focusing on what got you infuriated, work on resolving the issue at hand. Remind yourself that anger won’t fix anything and might only make it worse.
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6. STICK WITH ‘I’ STATEMENTS THAN “YOU”
To avoid criticizing or apportioning blames which might only increase tension, learn to use “I” statements to describe the problem. Be respectful and specific. For example, say, “I’m upset that you left without notifying me even when I told you the need to notify me” instead of “You are always fond of not keeping to simple instructions.”
7. LET GO OF EVERY GRUDGE
Forgiveness is a powerful tool. If you allow anger and other negative feelings to crowd out positive feelings, you might find yourself swallowed up by your own bitterness or sense of injustice. But if you can forgive someone who angered you, you might both learn from the situation and strengthen your relationship.
8. USE HUMOR TO RELEASE TENSION
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Lightening up can help diffuse tension. Use humor to help you face what’s making you angry. Avoid sarcasm, though it can hurt feelings and make things worse.
9. PRACTICE RELAXATION SKILLS
When your temper flares, put relaxation skills to work such as deep-breathing exercises, listening to music, writing if that’s one of the things you find interesting or repeating a calming word or phrase, such as “Take it easy.” Just do whatever it takes to encourage relaxation.
10. KNOW WHEN TO SEEK HELP
Learning to control anger is a challenge for everyone at times. Seek help for anger issues if your anger seems out of control, causes you to do things you regret or hurts those around you.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), says the country recorded two more COVID-19-related deaths with 210 additional cases in the last 24 hours.
The NCDC, in its latest update on Sunday morning, said the cases were reported in 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It indicated that the country’s total infection from the pandemic currently stands at 204,201 while the fatality toll increased to 2,673.
It also noted that six states – Benue, Kano, Nasarawa, Plateau, Sokoto and Zamfara – recorded no new cases.
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The breakdown shows that Lagos remains the nation’s epicentre of the virus with 79 cases, followed by Edo with 20 new infections and Anambra third with 19 cases.
Other states are Rivers (18), Ondo (15), Gombe (14), Oyo (13), Kaduna (11), Ekiti (8), Delta (6), FCT (5), Bayelsa (1) and Kano (1).
The NCDC stated with the new figure, a total of 192,421 patients have so far recovered from COVID-19 in the country.
It added that over 2. 9 million samples of the virus from the nation’s roughly 200 million population have been tested.
The NCDC noted that a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC), activated at Level 2, continued to coordinate the national response activities.
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The agency stated that the number of active COVID-19 cases in the country stands at 9,098.
The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to give corps members health insurance cover during service.
The MoU was signed by the Executive Secretary of NHIS, Prof. Mohammed Sambo and the Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, in Abuja on Tuesday.
Sambo said that it would ensure that corps members were integrated into the scheme to enable them to properly access healthcare during their service year.
“We are working on the presidential mandate on leaving no one behind in the health insurance scheme.
“So, today, it is big step to ensure that corps members are integrated into the scheme, this will expand coverage ratio of the scheme and also access to health facilities for corps members,’’ Sambo said.
According to him, for the purpose of continuity the corps members after their service year will enroll on what is called kinship programme.
He said that the corps members would migrate from the NYSC insurance to kinship where a token is paid and when they are employed they would join the formal sector programme.
Also speaking, the D-G of NYSC said that the MoU was in line with presidential directive that corps members should be enrolled in the scheme.
Ibrahim said that such directive showed that the government was concerned about the health of corps members in the country.
According to him, such gesture will encourage the corps members to carry out their service properly.
Ibrahim said that MoU would address the financial burden of the members in terms of health.
The Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC) says the country’stotal infection toll now stands at 195,052, with a fatality toll of 2,522.
The NCDC made this known via its verified website on Sunday morning, adding that Nigeria recorded 27more Coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths and964new infectionsfrom 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the 964 fresh cases reported on Saturday indicated an increase from the 444 cases posted on Friday.
The public health agency noted that Lagos State, the country’s epicenter of COVID-19,reported 456; Ondo followed with 180, while Edo recorded the third highest infection with 66 cases.
The agency also noted that the country’s active coronavirus cases in Nigeria were 10,026,with a total of 182,463 cases successfully treated and discharged after recovery as of Sept. 4.
The NCDC said that over 2.7million samples of the virus out of the nation’s roughly 200 million population were tested.
The agency said that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) activated at Level two continues to coordinate the national response activities.
Meanwhile, the NCDC noted that with the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in the country, Nigerians must all do their part to help minimise instances of exposure.
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The agency stressed that every COVID-19 related death was a reminder of the damage COVID-19 could cause when it gets into thecommunity.
While urging Nigerians to get vaccinated, it stressed that the COVID-19 was causing severe illness in people of all ages.
The centre therefore advised Nigerians to get vaccinated now to protect themselves, their friends and community from the virus.
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