DBT Describing Emotions - ANGER

"The strongest person is not the good wrestler. Rather, the strong person is the one who controls himself when he is angry." - Prophet Muhammad

ANGER WORDS

Anger   Aggravation     Agitation     Annoyance     Bitterness     Exasperation     Ferocity     Frustration     Fury     Grouchiness     Grumpiness     Hostility     Indignation     Irritation     Outrage     Rage     Vengefulness     Wrath

Prompting Events for Feeling Anger

• Having an important goal blocked or prevented.
• Having an important or pleasurable activity interrupted, postponed or stopped. 
• You or someone you care about being attacked or hurt physically or emotionally by others
• You or someone you care about being threatened with physical or emotional pain by someone or something
• You or someone you care about being insulted
• Losing power
• Losing status
• Losing respect
• Not having things turn out the way you expected
• Experiencing physical pain
• Experiencing emotional pain
• Not obtaining something you want (that another person has)

Interpretations of Events That Prompts Feelings of Anger

• Believing that you have been treated unfairly
• Believing that important goals are being blocked or that pleasurable activities are being interrupted, postponed or stopped
• Believing that other are attacking or trying to hurt you or someone that you care about
• Believing someone is insulting or disrespecting you or trying to control you.
• Believing that things "should" be different than they are
• Rigidly thinking "I'm right."
• Judging that the situation is illegitimate, wrong or unfair.
• Ruminating about the event that set off the anger in the first place or in the past.
• Blaming

Biological Changes and Experiences of Anger

• Muscles tightening
• Feeling extremely emotional
• Teeth clamping together, mouth tightening
• Frowning, or not smiling
• Making aggressive or threatening gestures
• Having a mean or unpleasant facial expression
• Walking heavily, stomping, slamming doors
• Brooding or withdrawing from others
• Walking out.
• Gritting or showing your teeth in an unfriendly manner
• Using a loud voice, yelling or screaming
• Sarcastic or caustic voice tone
• Acting quarrelsome or sarcastic
• Crying
• Using Obscenities or swearing
• Grinning
• Criticizing or complaining
• A red or flushed face
• Talking about how lousy thing are

Expressions and Actions of Anger

• Physically attacking the cause of your anger
• Verbally attacking the cause of your anger
• Pounding/throwing things
• Walking out
• Using loud voice
• Grinning
• Red Face
• Crying
• Talking about how lousy things are
• Using obscenities or swearing
• Sarcastic voice tone

Aftereffects of Anger

• Narrowing of attention
• Remembering and ruminating about situations that have made you angry in the past.
• Attending only to the situation making you angry
• Ruminating about the situation making you angry and not being able to think of anything else
• Imagining future situation that will make you angry
• The personalization, dissociative experience, numbness

Typical Secondary Emotions of Anger

• Intense shame or fear