Anger Journaling and Voice Dialogue Process
To develop mastery over anger, you need to understand how often you feel angry, the intensity of the emotion & your typical behavioral response. Anger Journaling is a simple & empowering technique to help you healthily deal with anger.
As long as we are aware of our behavioral patterns and we respond rather than automatically react to a trigger, anger can be a healthy and empowering emotion. To develop mastery over anger—an ability to stay in control—we need to understand where we currently stand, in terms of the frequency of experiencing anger, the intensity of the emotion, and our typical behavior in situations when we feel angry. Anger Journaling is a simple and powerful technique that will help you healthily deal with anger.
Structure your Anger Journal along the following two Question Groups, and honestly respond to each question. Remember that your Anger Journal is private—be truthful to yourself.
PART 1: MONITORING YOUR ANGER
1. Is anger your habit?
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2. What do you feel about your anger?
Is it a mask? Or a defense strategy? Or an uncontrollable emotion?
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3. How many times were you angry this week?
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4. What were the events that triggered your anger?
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5. Who do you think was wrong?
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6. What were your behavioral responses that made the situation worse?
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7. What strategies did you use to provoke the situation or to resolve it?
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PART 2: VOICE DIALOGUE PROCESS
1. Write down the entire event that occurred without omitting anything.
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2. Identify the negative thought patterns that triggered your temper during the event.
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PART 3: MONITORING ANGER FOR THE WEEK OR A MONTH
Keep an “Anger Record.” You can use one of the following two templates:
Template #1:
Template #2:
