Product Description

This volume is intended as a self-help manual for those who find that they are spoiling the lives of both themselves and those around them by constantly being irritable and angry. It has been written to explain why such bouts occur and what can be done, using cognitive behaviour therapy to overcome them. It takes a positive approach for which the long-term goal is lasting good temper and also looks at how best to handle situations which would tax even the most good natured person.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2560 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

A self-help book which really brings results.
This book has certainly helped me to get less angry less often. With the help of real-life case studies, the author describes what happens when you get angry, why you may be angered by something that doesn't anger somebody else, and the difference between anger and irritability. In the second part you get a chance to put the theories into practice by keeping an anger diary and then analysing the incidents according to the trigger that makes you angry, the appraisal you make of the situation, and the beliefs behind the appraisal. After working through the case-study examples as if advising the people in them how to look at the situation differently, you get to do the same on your own incidents, which I found an enlightening, and sometimes painful, experience. I now find I get less angry if a similar incident occurs. I would thoroughly recommend this book.

Does what it says on the tin
I found this an excellent source of information on anger and how to deal with it. As a trainee counsellor who is already working with clients I have used it as a framework for discussing anger problems and found the advice on how to re-appraise our habitual reactions to anger "triggers" was especially useful. I also liked the "leaky bucket" analogy, i.e. that if we don't keep topping up the bucket, the anger drains away. I would recommend the book to counsellors and self-helpers as it is very easy to read and follow. I do think the CBT approach is valuable for learning to manage what I would call "everyday" anger, but I think that there are people with "deep-seated" anger relating to wounds from their past who would need a different approach.

Good ideas, disappointingly written
This book was recommended to me by a counsellor. I made it about 3/4 of the way through before giving up because I felt that it was sloppily written and edited, and figured that I'd gained enough from it without having to see it through to the end.

The principles behind most of the techniques are good, and I think that they will come in handy, even if I don't go the whole hog and keep an "Anger Diary". Some of the ideas are a bit naff though- "Imagine what your role model would do" and "Go and do something else" make it seem like the author is throwing in any old idea. whatever works for you, I suppose.

In the edition I read there were a lot of spelling mistakes, some of which had been repeated over several pages by somebody cut/pasting the text repeatedly for the exercise section. A cosmetic mistake, but one that diminished confidence in the book as a whole.

Lastly, some of the examples and analogies were quite weak, especially the one based on the Victoria Beckham's admission that David wore her undies. The author tries to argue that "David" wouldn't be right to be angry with his wife, though I think anyone who read the example would find it hard to agree.

In summary, I think it's a good book, but one that could do with better editing and some rethinking.