Solutions & resources for adults, teens, couples, and families to assist with managing anger, stress, relationship issues, family & parenting problems.
According to DBT/CBT theory, each person has several dominate mindsets, which they operate from on any given day. In fact, the state of mind a person responds from is a direct aspect of environmental stimuli. Consequently, of these states of mind, two are furthest apart on the spectrum, yet are the most frequently utilized. Per Kari Anderson, PhD, LPC, of Finding Balance, these states of being are the Emotional Mind and the Rational Mind. The rational mind is the logical, more reasonable counter part of the two mindsets. Although often seen as cold and computer like, with an unfeeling view of life that is very cut and dry and absolute. In contrast, the emotional mind is all feeling with no logic or reason. This state of mind is often viewed as “the passion center” and is described as impulsive or angry and irrational. However, it is also the source of empathy and compassion. The challenge for those individuals that lean more toward the emotional mind, is to learn to fuse these two operational states into one higher functioning mindset, which per Dr. Anderson, is known as the wise mind. The wise mind uses the best qualities of both of these states to make better decisions, and is able to vastly improve a person’s quality of life when achieved. So what does any of this have to do with anger management? Achieving a more balanced state of mind can make controlling anger and emotional reactivity much easier. Another benefit of the wise mind is having the ability to think before exploding in an angry outburst, which helps increase the use of replacement behaviors when faced with high risk situations or other known triggers. In the end, learning to operate and make choices from the wise mind is an effective tool to help contain and manage anger, emotional outbursts, or other impulsive behaviors while increasing quality of life.
For further information regarding anger management or other anger control concerns, please visit our website at www.nvamc.com, or call 1-888-99anrgy (1-888-992-6479). For additional information regarding states of mind including the emotional, rational, and wise mind please visit the following websites:
