Mindful Anger: A Pathway to Emotional Freedom

by Andrea Brandt

How to release anger and reconnect to yourself using mindfulness techniques. Anger is one the most common human emotions, so if you’re not feeling it, then you’re probably unconsciously burying it. But anger that is buried isn’t actually gone. In fact, hidden or covert anger may be just as damaging as the overt, outwardly destructive kind, only it wreaks havoc from the inside-out. All sorts of physical and emotional problems can stem from suppressed anger: headaches, digestive problems, insomnia, just to name a few.

Buried anger is expressed in a continuum, with rage and aggression at the top, and frustration, annoyance, irritation at the bottom, and everything in between. Unless this anger is addressed, it is impossible to overcome.

This book urges readers to practice mindfulness-deliberately allowing physical sensations and emotions to surface so they can be examined and released. This sort of processing of anger-fully felt in the body as it happens, moved out through appropriate expression, and let go-will allow readers to process anger before it becomes unhealthy.

Whether for you or your clients, this book offers simple tools of mindfulness to strengthen your connection with your inner world and learn to explore your anger, paying heed to the important messages it is sending.

Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Nonfiction, Spirituality

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2014

About the author

Dr. Andrea Brandt is a marriage and family therapist located in Santa Monica California. Andrea brings over 35 years of clinical experience to the role of individual family therapist, couples counseling, group therapy and anger management classes.

Dr. Brandt is a recognized expert in treating a full range of emotional issues, including anger & aggression, anxiety & trauma, aging issues, relationships, work-life balance, workplace, and women's issues.

In her workshops, patient sessions and presentations, Dr. Brandt reveals positive paths to emotional health that teach you how to reinvent and empower yourself. She emphasizes the mind-body-heart connection as a key to mental, physical and emotional wellness.

Upon pioneering a new approach to emotional healing, Dr. Brandt directed her attention to the study of anger management and conflict resolution. In her book 8 Keys to Eliminating Passive-Aggressiveness, Dr. Brandt examines strategies for overcoming a common yet debilitating response mechanism. In her second book, Mindful Anger: a pathway to emotional freedom, Dr. Brandt explores methods to better understand and manage the powerful emotion of anger.

In her third book, Mindful Aging: Embracing Your Life After 50 to Find Fulfillment, Purpose, and Joy, Dr. Brandt challenges you to throw out the old stereotypes about aging, to look at the powerful and inspiring new evidence, and to open yourself to the very real possibilities that exist for you right now. Release Date: October 10, 2017

Reviews

[Linda Vituma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grūti būs saskaitīt gadus, cik ilgi tuvojos dusmu tēmai. Te, nu, esmu - pie durvīm. Instrukcija izlasīta. Tagad tikai rokturi satvert un durvis vaļā vērt. Lai dzīve ar krāsām, prieku un mieru var piepildīties. Apdomāju, drīzāk ne pie durvīm, drīzāk dusmu upes krastā esmu. Un peldēšanas instrukciju izlasīju. Lai drosme un neatlaidība ir ar mani apgūt dusmu-peldēšanas / dusmu-sērfošanas prasmes. Ķeršu vilni.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I think this book is both useful and well-conceived. My only two issues are that the writing could have been a bit more direct and concise. I had to go back over a few sections because the writing style seemed more like a therapy session in which statements are not always clear and direct, but somewhat obscured and indirect. Additionally, if you already practice mindfulness then the book may be less useful for you. I think it will still probably have some interesting insights, but it does seem like a large chunk of the book is devoted to winning over people who may otherwise be skeptical, which is laudable. There is some useful information on how to apply mindfulness specifically to dealing with your anger, so the end stages of the book are still of value for pretty much everyone.

[Private Account · Rating 2 out of 5]

-Marshall Rosenberg's Non Violent Communication deals with anger in a much better way. Please don't waste your time on this book--it can be summarized as follows: try to be mindful when you are angry. If you actually want to know healthy ways to express anger, start with Rosenberg,

-One thing she said that I really enjoyed was that drugs enable us to not change our lives. If, when you get angry, you stop it with a drug (like TV or a joint) you will not change your life. The energy of anger is there to help you change your life. And this is great, but Nathaniel Branden's The Art of Living Consciously is better.

[Amy Alkon · Rating 5 out of 5]

We think of anger as a bad thing but anger is actually kind of like a violin. Play it badly as a novice, and it’s like scraping your fingernails on the blackboard of somebody’s psyche; learn how to use it and you can, if not mesmerize an audience, at least maybe move them in the way you want. Whether you're an anger venter or an anger withholder (or something in between), this book is helpful. Therapist Dr. Andrea Brandt explains why anger can be a good thing -- you just need the chops to use it to your benefit, which she lays out in practical and very helpful detail in this book.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good insights and practical activities. The audio book was terribly slow, listened on double speed at times. I am not sure if the paper copy would have been better. The caring nature of the author does come through in the audiobook, but the narrative format could have been improved dramatically with some editing to be more concise.

I also wish the audiobook would have come with a pdf file with some of the activities or workbook format.

[Andrew Gourd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good review of how to use mindfulness skills I have learned elsewhere and apply them to anger in a healthy way. Emotions are signals to our inner world and need to be paid attention to. When we take the time to slow down and pay attention to the stories we are telling ourselves we can process emotions, even those stored from decades ago.

[Alan Vonlanthen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I managed to get so disconnected from my own anger that I genuinely believed I didn't experience anger at all.
Well, guess what, this is actually an anger management issue, which is dealt with in depth in this amazing little book. A life-changer, as far as I'm concerned.

[Avesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great techniques and exercises for managing and exploring one of the misunderstood emotions. It has been useful in my client work and has given me lots of insight into what anger can really mean for each individual.

[Nethra Ram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it. It was very relate-able and useful.

[Stefani]

Quite helpful. Good reminders. Could be more concise.