From the Alternative Choices Blog:
Anger: Normal, natural, and Difficult
by Robert Naseef, Ph.D.
Anger is completely natural-but not easy to manage properly.
As Aristotle put it, "Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy."
As if that is not a big enough challenge, it is the only socially acceptable emotion for men to express. Conversely it has traditionally been considered socially inappropriate for women to express anger resulting in a significant challenge for couples.
Anger is often triggered by the thought or sense that something is unfair. Anger is energizing; the adrenalin released can be felt in the body. Managing our anger involves the actions and decisions we make in response.
What triggers an angry response? There are many possibilities:
- Not getting our way
- Things not going the way we expected
- Things not going the way they should
- Being treated unfairly
- Being disrespected
- Getting upset
- Feeling powerless, etc.
The targets can be: our child, our partner, a relative or friend, a school system, a doctor, etc. Guys often don't like to admit being angry. It helps to have some synonyms handy such as: pissed off, grumpy, irritable, irked, impatient, exasperated, miffed, etc.
On August 4, I facilitated an episode of "Guy Talk" at www.autismbrainstorm.org. To hear what these guys had to say click here.
Or just read the highlights on the Alternative Choices blog by clicking here.
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GuyTalk@Alternativechoices: Networking for Fathers of Children with Autism and other Special Needs
GuyTalk@AlternativeChoices is a free community service hosted by psychologist, author, and parent Robert Naseef. The group is open to fathers and male service providers. We will hangout informally and share food while we talk about the struggles and triumphs of fathers. We will support fathers and families from the newly diagnosed to adulthood as we offer advice and perspective to each other about how to survive and thrive.
We will hang out on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, at 7:00 PM: October 9, November 13, and December 11.
Please bring a snack or nonalcoholic beverage to share. Click to download the flyer to share.
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