Customer Reviews

Overcoming Anger: How to Identify It, Stop It, and Live a Healthier Life

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Described as a book to develop skills to deal with anger as opposed to understanding the anger response, this book is a journey through myriad aspects of human behavior. It is a terrific exposure to the many aspects of each of us that make us different and how to embrace those differences, take responsibility for our emotions and avoid the combination of circumstances that lead to anger an potentially violence. While titled and organized to specifically address anger, this book has a much broader appeal to those seeking better communications in our lives. The many learnings include: how to "see" things differently and get different results, that life is a matter of degrees -the circumstances and how they are perceived will change the results, the importance of getting your own needs met, anger as an emotion, the many dynamics of relationships, parenting and a lot on communication both at work as well as with friends and family. I found the book to be a great primer on human behavior / psychology and easy reading (a flowing style littered with movie, TV and book references examples along with the author's personal counseling experiences. There is something here for everyone with lots of exercises to stimulate introspection and self-discovery. Much like John Gray's Mars / Venus, I was constantly seeing myself and others I know in the stories and examples which stimulated ideas I had not considered before. There were also many of the familiar concepts (Karpman triangle, the four types of power, Johari window, etc) reinforcing the concepts on these many topics. This is a great place to start understanding how to have a better life

People get angry for many reasons. Everything from world events to traffic jams contributes to stress and anger. Controlling the emotions related to anger is difficult, but it leads to personal growth, assertiveness and happiness. Anger management can benefit everyone. Counselor Carol Jones' conversational, well-researched book provides insightful suggestions for identifying and controlling anger and its related emotional and behavioral components. Jones uses personality and situational self-assessments to match anger management techniques with individual personality styles. This is not solely a self-help book filled with checklists; in fact, it is light on tricks and quick techniques. Instead, it is an entertaining, informative explanation of what anger is and how it happens. The author also suggests ways to become more assertive, which will make you happier, more effective, less angry and less stressed out. We believe that managers in human resources and other departments can use this book to enhance employee productivity and improve communications. And if you'd like a little help defusing the stimuli that trigger your anger, that's here as well.

I've read alot of books in the past 5 years, trying to get over my divorce and finish raising my 2 daughters, and I can tell you, if you need to move past ANYTHING in your life, that's hurt or angered you, this book will get you through it. It brought me to a whole new level of understanding and I'm closer to my daughters than I ever was. It's helped me to understand that so many people out there are going through so many different hurts, caused by anger. I've been able to work through the anger, insecurity and hurts so much, that my friends even noticed a difference in me. Thank you so much Carol, for sharing and writing this book. I have a friend that read this book and she can't say enough about it either, you literally saved her life! And from a friends point of view, I noticed a big change in, lets call her "Susan", that it made me have to read it. I'm I'm glad I did. I nevr thought I would ever feel like a whole person again.:)

In brief, this is more than a treatise on overcoming anger. While certainly useful to understand and hopefully affect the underpinnings of anger as one of the most complex and destructive of human emotions, Jones goes far beyond this singular topic. Many elements of self doubt and relational dysfunction are dealt with simply and with easy-to-use tools to promote personal improvement and inner resolution. The author's to-the-point approach is likely derived from her personal experiences as a Marine Corp counselor and professional; it would be hard to imagine a more venerable proving ground for issues around anger and emotion control. A chapter on Communication is especially beneficial, given the lack of attention to this element of human interaction in the psychology of detrimental behavior.

I found "Overcoming Anger" a useful and important addition to the compendium of credible self-help literature. I suggest that the value could be limited and the audience narrowed by a title that doesnt quite fit the scope.

Less than a month ago I reviewed Dr. Martin Seligman's book "Authentic Happiness." I almost wish I'd read that and Dr. Carol Jones' book, "Overcoming Anger," in reverse order. I think it might be more useful to explore stress, anger, and the negative emotions and then move on to ways to increase happiness. They're still both valuable books to read, however, in whatever order.

This book is more widely applicable than it sounds, and covers stress management, assertiveness, relaxation techniques, burnout, communication techniques, and so on. It has a very thorough discussion of ways to effectively communicate with others, and some interesting background on anger, personal responsibility issues, violence, and conflict.

If you have troubles in any of these areas, whether at work, at home, or in your social life, you might find this book helpful. It discusses nature vs. nurture arguments and causative events to help give you a handle on your feelings and where they come from. Then it goes into plenty of practical techniques to help you take stock of and control those feelings and their expression.

Sometimes the author throws out a statement about one thing or another with nothing to back it up, and in a couple of cases this caught me short thinking, "why is she making that assertion? I'd like a little more information here."

There are a few errors here and there, such as an exercise in which the verbal instructions say to rate items from 1 to 5, but the table of correspondences lists 0 to 4. Since you're supposed to total up your score and compare it to a benchmark this actually does affect the outcome of the exercise. Along those lines, I'm not sure I agree with the benchmarks on some of the exercises. For instance, there's an exercise for measuring your stress level due to various stressors. We're told that if our total score is over 100, we'll "benefit from learning some of the stress management techniques." To reach a score of 100, though, you'd have to accumulate stressors equivalent to 10 spouses dying (you get 10 points if your spouse dies). Call me oversensitive, but I think most people would be in need of stress management techniques long before reaching 100!

All in all I think this is a very worthwhile book for anyone who suffers from stress, frustration, or anger and conflict management issues. It isn't perfect, but it's well-reasoned and helpful and provides a great many insights and coping strategies.

In my opinion, this is by far the BEST self help book on the market . Dr. Jones teaches how to identify anger, understand what triggers it and, express it in a more positive way. Filled with exercises and suggestions that everyone can understand. Through simple breathing exercises, I am now able to take a step back when faced with an uncomfortable situation, breathe and, take a much calmer & positive approach, I no longer feel the need to be explosive in order to be heard. With her exercises, simple tests and suggestions, you can't help but come out a more positive and productive person. Sometimes, you just have to do the work!

Dr. Carol Jones helps demystify what anger is and what we can do about lessening its grip on our lives. This book helps the reader gain insights through self-tests and a practical, in-depth text that is rich with the latest information and suggestions. The communication skills techniques can be applied at home, at work and with friends. Dr. Jones presents the information in such a way that by the end of the book, the reader feels better about herself/himself ahd has gained the freedom to be open and honest with others. This book is a must read!

I really found this book helpful as I am a very busy mom who was seeking to figure out why I felt so frustrated and angy so often. If you are looking for easy-to-digest, straightforward and APPLICABLE information that can be used to help a situation immediately, this book is a must. A lot of user-friendly tools for quieting inner tumult! I highly reccomend this book!

I noticed most of the 4 and 5 star reviews were written when the 2004 hard-cover came out. In 2011, life's a LOT different. I (and millions of others) have no job, no prospects. Pop psych books like this were ok when "job burnout" was all the rage. But what about the anger manifesting itself in Occupy Wall Street and civil disobedience? Dr. Jones might find herself over her head in today's rage.