REGULATE · IN THE MOMENT

Anger Pause Tool

Anger can move quickly. This tool gives you a little space between what you feel and what you do next.

PAUSE BEFORE ACTION

You do not have to decide what to do while you are activated.

Anger can carry useful information about hurt, unfairness, pressure, boundaries or unmet needs. The first job is not to make the anger disappear. It is to create enough space to choose what happens next.

If you feel unsafe, believe someone else may be unsafe, or you are worried you may lose control, prioritise immediate safety and step away from the situation where possible.
Step 1 of 5
STEP 1

First — do you need space right now?

Choose what feels closest.

STEP 2

Give your body a moment first.

You do not need to calm down completely. Just create a little more room before deciding what to do.

Ⅱ

Pause for a moment.

Try these without forcing yourself to relax.

1. Feel your feet, seat or back against something solid. 2. Unclench your jaw or hands if you notice tension there. 3. Let one breath leave your body a little more slowly. 4. Look around the actual room you are in. 5. Do not send the message yet.
STEP 3

What happened?

Keep it simple. You do not need to tell the whole story.

A short sentence is enough.

STEP 4

What else might be here?

Anger can be the whole feeling, or it can sit alongside something else. Choose anything that feels relevant.

Choose at least one.

STEP 5

What feels like the wisest next step?

You do not need the perfect answer. Choose the option that creates the most space and choice.

Ⅱ
YOUR ANGER PAUSE

You created some space before acting.

You do not have to stop being angry to make a deliberate choice about what happens next.

What happened
What may be sitting alongside the anger
Your chosen next step

Before you act

Save this pause.

Keep this reflection in My Dashboard if you want to return to it later.

Take a Quick Reset → Explore Anger & Emotional Reactivity →

Anger can be information without becoming instruction.

You can listen to what the feeling is telling you without automatically doing the first thing the feeling urges you to do.