Anger Management Workbook
Anger Busting Workbook
Page 122
ROUND #9 (Another stupid question...by
now I am thinking in profanity, but sounding like a
saint still.)
One what? he asks.
One digit. One number. That last number
is a seven and not a nine. Did he get the number written
down?
Oh sure, I got it right here.
All right, I now tell him to hang up and
go find a convenience store, or some other place where
he can get some change, or where somebody will let him
use a phone, and call Doug at the number I just got
through giving him. I tell him to throw away that other
number he's been calling because he'll never get the
plumbing supply place that way. Did he understand? He
says sure, and fades away.
I even end up feeling pretty good about
going to all that trouble to help out an old boy who's
obviously operating under a handicap. But I should have
expected this:
ROUND #10 (End of test. Sorry, God. I
am not up to 10 more rounds...maybe next time.)
About an hour later my phone rings again
and I hear, Is this the plumbing supply place?
I don't respond, but hang up and turn
off my phone. That is the best I can do for today!
An anger addict always has more work to
do! I would give myself a B on this one. Four calls
are three more than I would have handled without an
explosion ten years ago.
A Process, Not an Event
We like to remind people that recovery
is a process, not an event, meaning that you work on
your anger control issues every minute of every day,
week after week, month after month, year after year
(a process). Once you choose to accept the fact that
you have an anger problem, that doesn't magically solve
the problem right then and there (that would be a one-time
event.) You have to keep choosing to not lose control
over and over again, sometimes as you can see from the
story we just read numerous times in the same conversation!
And because we are human and because this is a process
that never stops, we have good days and bad days. No
one is expecting you to be perfect. You need to expect
to keep working on this the rest of your life. Over
the long haul, you will get better. But every day will
be a battle. Below is a little checklist to help you
keep track of your progress.
Use this scorecard to record your response
to the anger control challenges you will face every
day. Make as many copies as you need. Write the new
date in the blank each day. Under slips, make a note
every time you fail to abstain from one of the 15 banned
behaviors. Under wins, note times when you still expressed
angry feelings, but didn't slip back into a banned behavior.Under
miracles, note any time that you felt angry but were
able to do the opposite of how you were feeling on the
inside. Good Luck!
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