Road Rage Experiences?

If you live in any metropolitan or suburban area in the county, with congested freeways I am sure you have had an experience with road rage.
What is that brings about Road Rage?  The emotions of stress, frustration, and anger well up and people do risky, even dangerous things, they would not do otherwise.  Here in the Sacramento Area we have busy congested freeways and surface streets that often create such a storm of emotions (that they may not even be aware of) that behind the wheel they change into a different person just to save a little time.  This is one of the more common ways people act out in anger, a study conducted by the Automobile Association in 1995 found that 90% of drivers had experienced road rage incidents, and 60% of drivers admitted to losing their tempers.  In this study they found:

• Aggressive tailgating (62 percent) was the most common form of “road rage,” followed by headlight flashing (59 percent), obscene gestures (48 percent), deliberately obstructing other vehicles (21 percent) and verbal abuse (16 percent). One percent of drivers claim to have been physically assaulted by other motorists.

What underlies Road Rage or Aggressive driving is pent up stress, frustration, and anger.  Perhaps for one person it was a bad day at work, or for another person an argument with a co-worker.  Our mood and our ability to manage our stress is often at the core of the problem.  For some clients we see this has become a chronic habit because the constant percevied pressures, deadlines, and irritation of their commute.  For many individuals, this is only one of the areas of their life where stress and anger are affecting them.  Often these same clients in our office describe communication problems at work or at home, arguments that seemed to stem from small issues become episodes wherein they lose their cool and say things they later wish they could take back.  I had a client the other day expressing deep frustration at the late night arguments he was having with his wife.  These initial miscommunications seemed to boil into long protracted arguments that continuously left them both tired and exhausted without truly resolving anything.
The good news is that if you or someone you care about is struggling with these issues, something can be done.  Stress and Anger are a part of everyday life, but they can be controlled, managed , and preventive strategies can be used to avoid allowing anger to control your life.  We at North Valley Anger Management Consultants take an evidence-based, skill-building approach to working with clients.  As Certified Anger Management Specialists, we utilize trusted curriculum that is customized to each clients needs based upon a research-based assessment that determines core areas of strength and weakness among domains such as: Stress Management, Empathy, Communication Styles/Skills (like assertion, aggression, and deference), and Emotional Intelligence.  This process yields great results for clients that are ready to make a change in their lives.
If you or someone you love is ready to make a change call us today at 1-888-992-6479 or visit us on the web at www.nvamc.com