The Anger Management Themometer
What is your point of no return? When dealing with our anger it is very important to know and recognize our boiling point or point of no return because what we are attempting to do while in anger management therapy is to restrain ourselves from getting to that exact point. This is why it is always best to analyze our anger in terms of a thermometer and to understand the ranges of emotions that can make up the feelings associated with anger. In viewing the range of emotions on the thermometer you will increase your vocabulary of words to help describe how you are feeling at different intervals. The anger thermometer is a tool to be used to help you become more aware of the appropriate communication of annoyance, anger and rage according to Casanova and Tafrate’s Anger Thermometer. The objective of this tool is to help articulate your feeling state directly to another person with a single word that communicates the exact intensity of how you are feeling. So the next time you find yourself in an anger episode consider the problem you are facing and look at the words listed below. Then, finish the following sentence.
“When I consider what we are talking about, I feel____________”
100-Rabid, crazed, maniacal, wild, violent, demented
90-Frenzied, vicious, unhinged, untuned, up in arms
80-Incensed, infuriated/furious, engaged, hysterical
70-Irate, inflamed, exasperated, fuming, burned-up
60-Fired-up, riled-up, all worked up, peeved, indignant, nuts
50-Mad, angry, agitated, pissed off, irked, aggravated
40-Provoked, impelled, cranky, crotchety, distressed, disturbed
30-Annoyed, bothered, irritated, perturbed, flustered, uneasy
20-Jogged, moved, stirred, ruffled, challenged
10-Aroused, actuated, alert, awakened, kindled
0-Sleepy, dead, drunk, comatose
By: Diana Bonilla, M.A.
For more information on the subject of anger management classes visit www.daybreakservices.com or call 855-662-6437