The Sledgehammer Anger Management Class

A student group at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., has found a way to make money off the frustration that misbehaving computers generate.

On Thursday, the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques (ACM-SIGGRAPH) is holding Anger Management 101. Students can hit surplus computer equipment with a sledgehammer after paying a modest charge -- $1 for every 15 seconds with a maximum of one minute per student. Source: UPI-1-20070424-16380400-bc-us-computersmash.xml

At $240.00 per hour, this is much more expensive than your average anger management class! But is it effective? Doesn't it help anger management to occasionally smash something or blow off steam?

Studies say "no." While venting one's anger on an inanimate object may seem like an attractive option, it is not helpful. Often, people punch pillows, hit the wall, or smash things — but these behaviors only intensify anger in the end. Attempting to vent anger me feel good temporarily (because one gets the chance to burn off adrenaline), but it leads to increasing and intensifying hostile and aggressive behaviors.

Thich Nhat Hanh asks why a person would hit a pillow when they're angry "The pillow has done them no harm!" Anger does not exist in the object of venting - or even in the target of aggression. Our anger exists only between our own ears.

Since we create our own anger in our own minds, we must manage anger within our own minds. Tools such as keeping an anger journal help us do this. Taking an anger management class and learning the skills of non-violent communication, stress management, and emotional intelligence help us do this. Smashing things does not.

Free Anger Management: The Anger Journal

Managing anger - stuff you can do right now - and that won't cost you anything but time. It's free anger management! My mini-anger management program is quite simple. Each day for 30 days, keep an anger log with at least one entry per day. If a day goes by without you feeling angry, you can process a past angry event. I have a "long form" anger log, but the following few points can be memorized — it's as easy as A, B, C — and logged on the back of a napkin! Record the date on each entry ... it will help you see progress when you look back.

A. Activating Event - what triggered or invited your anger? You only get 3 lines to write about this; NO MORE! Writing more will just feed your feelings of justification for being angry. Just write enough to help your make sense of the rest of the log.

B. Beliefs/Judgments - it is impossible to get angry without judging the target of your anger. List as many of the beliefs and judgments that lead to anger as possible. Some of these will even be quite accurate and maybe even appropriate. Some may turn out to be quite irrational. Write them all down.

C. Consequences - what happened as a result of your anger? What did you do? Feel? Did you practice anger management? Did you blow up? What happened then? Etc ...

D. Dispute - go back to the B section. Challenge each of your beliefs and judgments - even ones that are "correct" do not help you if they lead to anger. So, ask if there is another perspective to take that is more helpful. What would be a more effective way of looking at things? Some of my beliefs I just have to laugh at, because they're so childish. Others, I have to take very seriously, and then look for a better perspective - because I do not want to be consumed by anger.

Do this at least once a day for 30 days ON PAPER and see how you change, how your approach changes. If you're not satisfied, I'll gladly refund my fee for this free anger management program!

Reduce Road Rage bumper stickers

I’m Officer D. J. Vanhee. Having been a Police Officer for ten years, I’ve worked a multitude of traffic accidents. In the past few years I've noticed Road Rage incidents on the increase. I've seen Road Rage cause everything from fender benders to full scale multiple vehicle fatalities. Because I have personally witnessed too many of these avoidable incidents, I feel compelled to increase awareness of this dangerous problem among the driving public.

A nice way to share a good sentiment ...

But I remember a time BEFORE anger management, when I'm sure a good number of souls in western LA County were perplexed to have just been honked at, flipped off, tailgated, and finally cut off by a little tan car with a "Practice Random Acts of Kindness" bumper sticker clearly visible!

An embarrassing nugget of my personal history. I'm in favor of reinforcing the idea (just like the LAPD squad cars with the "There's No Excuse for Domestic Violence" stickers) - I think it's a good start. Stay tuned for more about road rage and how to prevent it.

Certified Anger Management

Verbal Abuse by instructor - Mary Fowler - Jun 14th 2005
My 21 year old son went to anger management class last night and came home in tears. The instructor singled him out by cursing; calling him names and belittling him in front of others also told him he would not give any credit for his class. It was his first time there first offense and we do not know if this in normal for a class please help.

There is never an excuse for this type of behavior. Anger management classes need to be facilitated by people who know their own anger, know their own buttons, and have learned to manage them. To behave aggressively and abusively to a student in a class violates professional ethics and common courtesy. It reveals an inept instructor who has not yet mastered even the rudiments of anger management.

This is why it is so important that anger management facilitators be certified. Certification, such as completing the world-recognized Anderson & Anderson training program, ensures that a facilitator has at least learned minimum standards of professional behavior and is working with a proven curriculum.

Years after completing my certification, I continue to do research, to read the latest articles, and to participate in continuing education classes. Although not everybody who facilitates anger management needs to be a licensed psychotherapist, those with licensure are bound to high levels of ethical and professional behavior.

Mary, I'm sorry your son was abused in a class that should have instead modeled an effective way of managing and containing strong emotions. On behalf of the entire anger management community, I apologize.

Anderson Tools Found Helpful in Schools

Training school social workers to lead "talk therapy" sessions during the school day can help teens and pre-teens recognize and begin to overcome mild depression, anxiety and anger problems, research is showing.

Researchers reported results from 45 students who received individual sessions, and 60 who participated in group sessions, with three social workers at two middle schools and one alternative high school in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan.

The therapy sessions were conducted by school social workers who were trained to provide a modified form of a well-established and proven talk-therapy approach called cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT.

Several standardized measuring tools showed significant improvement nearly across the board after students completed the multi-week program. Signs of improvement included better mood and cognitive skills among the depressed students, and decreases in angry feelings toward teachers and improvements in problem-solving ability among those who received counseling for anger issues.

Anderson & Anderson, trusted worldwide provider of anger management and executive coaching services, uses interventions based on the same cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) that was used in this study. CBT has proven a powerful tool in many areas of behavioral medicine, including the treatment of depression and anxiety, as well as anger and stress management.

The Anger Journal techniques presented in both Anderson's adult and adolescent workbooks exemplifies CBT's approach to helping people rethink their automatic responses to triggers and stressors, and replace them with more effective behaviors.

Road Rage Kills

Police said Bender and Luciano were exchanging obscene gestures with the driver of a green Chevrolet pickup truck for some distance as they headed south in commuter traffic.

The truck swerved into the left lane in front of Luciano’s 1998 Chrysler Sebring, causing him to lose control, cross the right lane and hit the guardrail, said Maryland State Police spokesman 1st Sergeant Russ Newell.

Luciano was the 1998 state wrestling champion in the 171-pound weight class for Northampton High School in eastern Pennsylvania. Neither victim was wearing a seat belt and both were ejected and pronounced dead at the scene

Often times crowded freeways and poor planning lead to impatience and frustration with traffic. Sometimes, misplaced competition leads drivers to antagonized each other. In this case, rude gestures led to a fatal crash and a manhunt for the driver of the green pickup.

Anger management skills could have helped save Luciano and Bender. Enhanced emotional intelligence would have helped them to be aware of their rising anger and the social intelligence would have reminded them not to antagonize others. Stress management techniques would have helped them to "shake it off." They could even have taken a tip from the movie Anger Management and said "Goosefraba" to each other. That would have gotten them both laughing instead of leaving them dead.

Equally, the driver of the green pickup could have "just said no" and ignored the decedents. By escalating a hostile exchange and swerving in front of the other vehicle he contributed to two unnecessary deaths.