Uncontrolled anger can be devastating, yet many people with serious anger issues don't know how to change their behavior. In Overcoming Destructive Anger, psychologist Bernard Golden, an anger management specialist, offers concrete tools for turning destructive anger into healthy anger.
Dr. Golden draws on both compassion focused therapya model for change that encompasses and expands on cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and practices in compassion and self-compassionand theories of emotional intelligence. He teaches readers to recognize, sit with, and move beyond the triggers that cause destructive anger. Anger logs and other exercises, together with stories of people who were challenged by anger and able to overcome their outbursts, allow readers to explore the source of their anger and recognize its destructive potential. Emphasizing anger's link to habits of thinking, feeling, and physical reactions, Dr. Golden offers multiple strategies for coping with current hurts as well as past wounds. And he directs readers to helpful websites, books, and films.
Dr. Golden explains why destructive anger happens and how it can contribute to divorce, estranged families, job loss, addictions, and even imprisonment. Emphasizing the importance of making calm, constructive choices and cultivating self-empathy, this guide will free people with destructive angerand those around themto live more fulfilling lives.
Preface PART I. Introducing Anger 1. Understanding Unhealthy Anger and Healthy Anger 2. What Are the Challenges to Cultivating Healthy Anger? 3. How Mindfulness and Mindfulness Meditation Can Help 4. The Role of Self- Compassion PART II. Using Mindfulness and Self-Compassion to Overcome Destructive Anger 5. Cultivating Self-Compassion 6. Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Your Body 7. A Framework for Understanding Anger 8. A Tool for Exploring Anger Arousal 9. Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Your Feelings 10. Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Your Thoughts 11. Self-Compassion for Healthy Anger PART III. Healing Relationships by Changing the Anger Response 12. Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Compassion for Others 13. Self-Compassionate and Compassionate Interactions with Others 14. Committing to the Practice of Healthy Anger Notes Resources Index
""This is a self-help book that could be useful for anyone who experiences destructive anger. It may be most beneficial when used in conjunction with therapy. The book explores compassion-focused therapy and mindfulness in an easy-to-understand format, which takes the reader from the basics of both what anger and mindfulness are, through to more advanced techniques on how to manage the anger.""
