Angry birds are one thing, but what about angry people?  When you hear the word anger do you have a positive or negative image?  Anger is such a powerful emotion that it tends to get mostly negative attention.  (Usually from impulsive actions that take place when one is angry.)  The truth is that anger is simply an emotion.  It is a signal that something has gone awry.  It is important to pay attention to one’s anger.  Assess your angry thinking.

True or False:     When you are angry, it means you are overreacting to something.  FALSE
Anger is an emotion.  It is a response to something taking place in your life.

True or False:     If I ignore the anger it will go away. FALSE
Ignoring anger means it resurfaces in another way.  Ignoring anger won’t make it go away.

True or False:     If I express my anger it means I am self-centered, I should just let it pass. FALSE
Some people may think that you are self-centered for expressing your anger, but ignoring anger serves no one in the long run.

True or False:     The goal of understanding anger is to never be angry again.  FALSE
The goal of understanding anger is to help you to express anger in ways that do not harm yourself or others.

Marlayne Whitlock, MS
mwhitlock@ GROWcounseling.com

Adapted from Surviving a Borderline Parent, Kimberlee Roth and Frieda B. Friedman (2003)