Think of a time that you were extremely angry. It might have to do with a situation at work, or with a spouse, or even something school related. Walk us through your specific situation using the Five Steps for Dealing with Anger listed below. Please be sure to address and label all five steps as you elaborate on your situation, your thoughts, and how this chapter might help you in the future.
1. Examine your anger to find the inner causes-focus on what triggered anger in a given situation.
2. Learn to recognize your own "flashpoints"-flashpoints might include fatigue, excessive stress, and factors such as excessive alcohol intake.
3. Examine specifically what damage your anger has caused-examples would be damage to relationships, retaliation from others, or health issues.
4. Work on developing and using conflict management skills-for example, work on being assertive, rather than passive or aggressive.
5. Get in touch with what types of things help calm you down-think about what constructive steps one can take, i.e. steps that specifically work for a person.