Anger

This "landmark book" (San Francisco Chronicle) dispels the common myths about the causes and uses of anger as Dr. Carol Tavris expertly examines every facet of that fascinating emotion—from genetics to stress to the rage for justice. Social psychologist Dr. Carol Tavris explores myths around anger—ideas such as expressing anger is always good for you, suppressing anger is always unhealthy, or that women have special "anger problems" that men do not—and provides a helpful guide on how to use anger constructively and how to diminish anger without being aggressive or hostile. Fully revised and updated, Anger now includes: -A new consideration of biological politics: Should testosterone or PMS excuse rotten tempers or aggressive actions? -The five conditions under which anger is likely to be effective—and when it's not. -Strategies for solving specific anger problems—chronic anger, dealing with difficult people, repeated family battles, anger after divorce or victimization, and aggressive children.

Carol Tavris

Contents Preface to the Second Edition Acknowledgments Introduction: A Point of View 1. Rage and Reason -- an Eternal Ambivalence The Fallacy of the Swami's Snake The Freudian Legacy The Anger Business The Use and Abuse of Anger 2. Uncivil Rites -- the Cultural Rules of Anger The Judicial Emotion A Brief Madness Manners, Emotions, and the American Way 3. The Anatomy of Anger Emotions and the Brain Temper and Temperament: The Genetic Ingredient The Fuel of Anger Thinking About Feeling Biological Politics 4. Stress, Illness, and Your Heart -- Myths of Suppressed Anger Eating Disorders, Overweight, and Ulcers Anger and Depression The Stress Connection Anger and Heart Disease Considerations 5. "Getting It Out of Your System" -- Myths of Expressed Anger Myth #1: Aggression Myth #2: Talking Out Anger Myth #3: Tantrums The Conditions of Catharsis 6. "Seeing Red" Frustration Noise Crowds Drivers and Dawdlers Alcohol Exercise and Sports Considerations 7. Shouters, Sulkers, Grouches, and Scolds -- Which Sex Has the Anger Problem? The Stereotype Up Close The Persistence of Myth Two Cultures 8. The Marital Onion The Onion Unpeeled The Systems Solution In Praise of Civility 9. A Rage for Justice The Rationalizing Species The Birth and Death of Anger Temper of the Times 10. Rethinking Anger: Strategies for Living with Anger and Getting Beyond It Chronic Anger The Difficult Person The Angry Divorce The Aggressive Child The Victim Considerations Further Reading Notes Bibliography Index