Anger: Definition, Function, Price, Benefits
STAR- Week 2
Student
Worksheet
HOW IS YOUR ANGER AFFECTING YOU AND OTHERS?
Anger Impact Key
0 - No problem
1 - A few problems
2 - Some problems, but no great influence on daily life
3 - Causing problems in my life
4 - Causing major problems in my life
Instructions: Using the five-point scale above, rate how your anger has influenced the following:
1. Relationships to authority (bosses, custody, teachers, police, etc. _____
2. Relationship to mends and co-workers. _____
3. Relationship to people I supervise at work. _____
4. Relationship to customers, clients, etc. _____
5. Relationship to my children. _____
6. Relationship to my children's teachers. _____
7. Relationship to current husband, wife, or partner. _____
8. Relationship to former husband, wife, or partner. _____
9. Relationship to in-laws. _____
10. Relationship to parents. _____
11. Relationship to family members. _____
12. Relationship to current mends. _____
13. Relationship to former mends. _____
14. Relationship to neighbors. _____
15. The role of anger in lost relationships. ______
Anger: Definition, Function, Price, Benefits (Cont.)
16. Relationship to recreational groups or organizations. _____
(i.e.: bowling or softball teams)
17. Relationship to religious groups. _____
18. Impact on your health (rapid heart rate, tension, shoulder and _____
neck pain, headache, restlessness, etc.)
19. Time lost to angry feelings. _____
20. Anger interferes with fun activities. _____
21. Effect on drinking or drug use. _____
22. Effect on being creative or productive. _____
23. Effect on driving safely. _____
24. Accidents and mistakes. _____
It is not as important to get a final number at the end of this inventory, rather for you to see some patterns. Are you more angry at home or work? With those you are close to or strangers? Do you tend to feel more anger with those in authority or equal friends? Have you lost relationships due to anger? On this paper or a separate one, identify the two areas in which you want to work on anger management and why.
Anger: Definition, Function, Price, Benefits STAR -
Week 2
Student Worksheet
SAMPLE STRESS SCENE
Using your knowledge of the two-step model of anger, create a scene or story showing what happens when a person does not reduce stress and the situation leads to anger. Be sure to identify the trigger statements (blames and shoulds). Then show what happens when a person makes a coping decision to reduce stress and the anger is lessened.
Sample Scene:
You get home from work and your wife is not home and dinner is not started. You have agreed that since she gets off work earlier than you, she will start dinner and you both will help finish when you get home. Tonight, it was important that she be home because you had plans to go out with friends after supper. Finally, after 45 minutes, your wife comes in the door, says hello, and begins to pull things out for supper. She offers no explanation why she is late. You were so angry you wanted to scream at her at the very least, but hitting her came closer to what you really wanted to do.
Stress: You have worked hard all day and are tired. You wonder if you'll make it to your evening plans on time. You feel ignored that she didn't acknowledge that she was late.
Trigger Thoughts: "My wife is going to make me late for my evening with my friends. She gets to do things for fun, now she's getting in the way of me having fun! If she really loved me, she would be here and do her share. She should have called to tell me if she was going to be late."
Anger: Definition, Function, Price, Benefits
STAR- Week 2
Coping Decisions:
1. Instead of stewing about her not being there on time, I'll go
on a walk and let out some stress.
2. I don't have to be dependent on my wife to start cooking. If something happens that changes our original agreement, I can fix something to eat for myself
3. Something might have happened at work or on the way home that made her late. Maybe I forgot about plans she shared with me before today that was going to make her late.
4. Maybe my anger scares her and that's why she didn't address the problem when she first came home.
5. I can reduce my stress enough (exercise, journal writing, listening to music, take a shower) so that I can talk to her about what happened. Maybe we need to negotiate another plan for dinner or maybe it is a one-time problem. I am able to talk about it without getting angry.
Anger: Definition, Function, Price, Bent<fits
STAR - Week
2
Your
Story
Scene:
Stress:
Trigger Thoughts:
Coping Decisions:
Anger: Definition, Function, Price, Benefits
STAR - Week 2
Student Worksheet
ANGER JOURNAL WRITING
Keeping a journal is an important part of learning about your anger and patterns of stress and stress management. Make sure to enter something every day. The following are some ideas for the type of items you can record in your journal:
1. Record the number of times you got angry in the last 24 hours. How did you feel when you were at your angriest? How would you describe this on a scale of 1-10 with one being the least reaction and 10 the most? Also, record on a scale of 1-10 how aggressively you acted when you were at your angriest. Be aware and record any physical reactions you have to your stress and anger (shortness of breath, hot face, tension, twitches, muscle spasms, etc.)
2. Pick several situations where you did get angry. Answer the following questions as they relate to those situations of anger:
a. What stresses were present before I got angry?
b. What trigger thoughts did I use? (blamers and shoulds)
c. Were you angry or were you feeling some other kind of stress before you used trigger statements?
d. Did you feel some kind of relief as a result of getting angry? If so, did the stress and anger come back?
e. Did you feel justified in getting angry?