Radha and Ravi met in college. Theirs was your regular boy meets girl kind of story. Three months down the line Radha felt that she knew Ravi inside out and was ready for some serious commitment. And Ravi reciprocated her feelings. After graduating with flying colors, the lovebirds got married. The honeymoon ended and life began.

Within a week of being married, Radha discovered that she did not know Ravi that well. She saw another completely new facet to his personality. Ravi has problems with his temper. He has such a short temper that something as small as not finding his clothes ironed can make him smolder. Radha has often been the object of his anger. She hates to admit it, but he has hit her on several occasions. Finally, Radha is seeking a divorce.

If you have a problem similar to Ravis, or have a spouse/friend/family member who does, please read on. There are ways to deal with anger. With proper anger management techniques, it is possible to get over this personality disorder. But a person dealing with temper issues needs a lot of support from family and friends. Here are our tips on how you can control your temper:

Silence Is Golden: Every time you flu off the handle and want to cream your butt off, remember that you may have to eat your word later. Words spoken in anger will definitely cause a lot of pain and grief to the person who has made you angry. These may be words and feelings that you really mean, or these may be words spoken just to get back at someone. In either situation, once the words are out of your mouth, you cannot undo the damage they will do.

So when you feel angry, slowly count to fifty before you open your mouth. And while you are counting, think if getting angry and screaming will actually solve your problem. If you follow this rule religiously, you will definitely end up doing much less harm than otherwise.

Tickle That Funny Bone: Do you really have to be so serious about everything? It always helps to look at the lighter side of things. Suresh always asks wife Swati Why dont you lose weight? Instead of feeling offended (and retaliating with some major fault finding with HIM), Swati responds with So that I have more weight to throw around in our marriage. Making light of things is not only good but also easy. Jokes and laughter are a very good way to diffuse any tense situations you may find yourself in. So angry outbursts are not the only way in which you can respond, you see?

Have A High Opinion Of Yourself: Often people get mad at any criticism they receive. What you need to realize is that only one person can make you feel small, and that person is yourself. Think highly of yourself and forget about what others say or do. If you can take criticism positively and use it to improve, thats great. But if you cant do that, just forget about it. Try not to respond or defend yourself. Criticism usually results in a mud slinging match if both the parties refuse to give up. Someone has tobe that someone.

Find Solutions: This is by far, the most important way in which you can control your temper. If the traffic makes you go crazy, try to look for an alternative route when you travel to work. Or switch to another mode of transport, if thats possible. Find alternatives. If your childs unkempt room is ruining your peace of mind, firmly tell him or her to get it all cleaned up. Use the carrot or the stick, whatever works! Remember, anger will not solve any of your problems. Youve got to do that yourself.

Get Physical: No No daahlings! I do not mean that you go around hitting your spouse, mom-in-law or the kids. What I mean is indulge in some vigorous physical activity. When very angry, try to diffuse your anger by getting a nice workout. Kickboxing is great for your body and also relaxes you. You must have seen it in the movies, right?

Get a Break: Sometimes our tensions and anxiety just keep bundling up. Thats when we need a break. So take a vacation. Spend some quality time with family and pamper yourself. If you cant find the time for a vacation, just spend a day at the spa. Get some nice massages, facial and the works. Youll love it.

Distance Yourself: Unless you want to distance yourself from your loved ones, you need to work on controlling your temper. So what you can try is distancing yourself from the location of the event that has triggered off your temper. If the source of your tension is at home, go out for a walk, if its at work, go for a coffee in the cafeteria. This will also give you time to dwell on ways to effectively deal with the situation.

Seek Counseling: If nothing seems to be working, you need some serious counseling. Dont be afraid of seeking professional help.

Last but not the least, when you are angry: think of the countless problems that people face in this world. There are millions of people who are not as lucky or as blessed as you are. Some are starving, a few are homeless, many are unloved and so many are sick. Try to count your blessing and your problems will appear to be much smaller.