Do you find yourself getting angry often during the day? Do you react to daily annoyances by slamming your hands on your desk or shouting at others? Do you feel that you're constantly on the verge of losing your temper? This isn't healthy, and it doesn't help you build strong relationships with co-workers, family members or friends. Fortunately, anger management self help is within reach.

The American Psychological Association recommends several tips for helping people learn how to deal with anger management. The key, doctors at the association say, is to understand that you can't prevent yourself from feeling anger. But you can, with proper anger management skills, control how you react to your anger.

By relying on certain relaxation techniques, you can quickly calm yourself down when you feel angry. And you can do this without having to resort to loud outbursts or physical intimidation.

The psychological association recommends that you take several deep breaths when you begin to feel angry. It's important, though, to breathe deeply from your gut. This provides more relaxation, and takes more of your focus away from your hunger, than does shallow breathing from your chest.

The doctors at the psychological association also suggest that you slowly repeat a calming word or phrase such as "relax" or "settle down." This is a particularly effective form of anger management because it again takes your attention off the source of your anger and onto your calming words.

Finally, another anger management self help tip involves imagery. When you begin to feel angry, stop and picture a soothing image that has significant meaning for you. Again, this will cause you to focus on something other than the person or situation that is making you angry. These distraction techniques are often surprisingly powerful ways to help you control your anger.

It's important to remember that anger is a perfectly natural emotion. It's also important to realize that you'll never be able to prevent situations or people from making you feel this emotion.