Where Does Anger Come From?

 

Submitted by William Poehner

 

Background/Preparation: The material presented today stems from the work of Harville Hendrix on Childhood Wounds. More information can be found in his book, “Getting the love you want”.  I also share the theory of an internal thermometer as an example of measuring a person’s  tolerance level based on their human needs.

 

Materials: Dry erase markers and white board.

 

Objectives:

  • Participants are able to connect anger with a past experience.
  • Participants name behavior's that raise their temperature
  • Participants name behavior's that lower their temperature

 

Procedure:

  1. Start off with a discussion asking people what they know about anger. Ask them to offer examples of times that they have been angry, and also experiences that they’ve had in their lives that they think might have contributed to their angry reaction.  This supports in creating connection and rapport. Continue the dialogue for 15-20 minutes.
  2. Draw a timeline on the white board, and show events from the discussion on the timeline. At the end of the timeline mark the present moment, by drawing a thermometer.
  3. Link past events with the present day thermometer, suggesting that what happens in the past affects our present experience. As we accumulate experiences, our thermometer, which represents our feelings, either rises or drops.  As the thermometer rises, our range of tolerance shrinks (this is visually represented by the amount of color versus white space in the drawing of the thermometer).

 

 

Dialogue and Harvest (questions):

1.     Where does anger come from?

2.     How do your past experiences affect your present state?

3.     What did you get out of today’s class?

4.     Do you have a better understanding of what your triggers are?

 

Pod-Work: Informal Pod-Work. If participants find themselves upset during the week, notice if any memories of the past arise.  

 

 

Notes (optional): I enjoyed the intimacy of the class and our ability share personal example in knowing ourselves for a short amount of time. I also was able to interact with them one-on-one and see if they had a firm understanding of the information covered.