Internal Anger Barometer

Use this worksheet to identify the triggers and cooling down factors to help manage anger reactions
Anger Warning Signs / Triggers Cool-down / Defusion Techniques
Physical: Physical:
• Knots in your stomach • Physically shake it off
• Clenching your hands or jaw • Take regular exercise
• Feeling clammy or flushed • Practice Multimodal Relaxation
• Breathing faster • Exercising Assertiveness - fighting fair
• Headaches Cognitive:
• Pacing or needing to walk around • Time-lining – identify unresolved beliefs or images
“Seeing red” • Reality checking – Get things back into proportion
10
•
• Having trouble concentrating • Catch it > Check it > Change it > Notice the thought and ask yourself
• Pounding heart “How does this help me?” “What is a more realistic way of seeing
this?” “Do I trust myself enough to let go of the anger now?”
• Tensing your shoulders
Cognitive: 9 • Thought back-tracking – what was the thought before the hot thought?
• Obsessing about being wronged or unfairly judged • Thought Defusion - occupy the same thinking space from a different
•
•
Making rigid demands about how things “should or must be”
Seeing things in black and white terms 8 vantage point – Being the thought > seeing the thought > notice
seeing the thought…
• Focusing on and inflating the unfairness and injustice • Express the rule as a preference – the anger antidote!
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•
Mind reading and jumping to conclusions without checking the facts
Drawing negative inferences about other people’s intentions
7 • Way one and way two –– acting according to my values not
vulnerabilities
• Looking for things to get upset about Behavioural:
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Attributing blame
Dwelling on, imagining or replaying negative scenarios
6 •
•
Withdraw from the situation
Take a walk
Using the situation to label other people as lazy, incompetent, corrupt • Apply the three second rule
5
•
or Malicious • Paradoxical Spiking –inflate the anger spikes to habituate the reaction
Behavioural: • Massed exposure exercise – record/replay negative thinking patterns
Emotional:
4
• Continuous ruminating and replaying negative scenarios
• Criticising or insulting others • Identifying the feeling behind the feeling – what does anger protect
• Jumping to your own defense rather than acknowledging feedback you against?
• Emotional swapping e.g. anger for annoyance
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•
Looking for problems
Testing tolerance levels or breaking points 3 •
•
Emotional tolerance – surfing the feelings until the tide recedes
Practicing the art of compassion or forgiveness
• Telling yourself that you have to be right
Imaginal / Mindful:
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Pointing out errors or problems
Raising your voice and shouting 2 •
•
Count backwards from 100 and watch the Barometer
Use abdominal breathing
Getting physical with objects or other people
1
•
Situational: • Practice calm colours breathing visualisation
• Reduced sleep or rest • Locate and shift the tension to your feet
• Over-indulgence • Focus on the breath
• Over-working • Undertake body scan
• Insufficient relaxation / recreation time • Silent Mantra, self-affirmation and meditations
• Low rewards • Sit with open hands and open mind
• Confined environments / restricted space • Shifting Focus of attention
• Dehydration / poor diet • Slow motion focus
• Lack of physical activity • Non-doing – using the five senses
• Centering
• Self-soothing

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