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Out of Control: How to Handle Anger--Yours and Everyone Else's
Anger management strategies for teens. This book offers strategies for young people to manage both their own anger and their response to others' anger.
112 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 20, 2020
Out of Control is a non-fiction book written by John DiConsiglio on how to handle anger—and everyone else's. In this book, it tells the story of other teens who face pressure, along with tons of facts and quizzes, a new definition of anger, and ways to relieve it. For example, the new definition is that anger isn't just one emotion—it's a mix of frustration, confusion, restrictions, stress, pressure, disappointment, and perfectionism. I now know that the word “anger” is, in fact, very vague. The quizzes question your behavior, making you learn more about yourself. I actually took one of their quizzes and realized I'm very passive-aggressive...whoops!
Teenagers face all kinds of pressure, (which is a factor in contributing to anger), like getting good grades, getting your homework done in time, friend issues, rumors going around, and so on. DiConsiglio listed many of his solutions as to how to manage and relieve the pressure in a teen’s life. There are breathing techniques, art therapy, exercise relief, listening to music, writing down your thoughts—all those things are DiConsiglio's solutions and will help soothe anger and unwind. If these methods don’t work for you, you can always contact a therapist to schedule an appointment with you. In my opinion, I thought these solutions are hard to apply to your everyday life, especially when your impulse wants to control you. From personal experience, I know that when I'm angry, I don't want to calm down, even though these solutions do help. The last thing I'd want to do when I'm frustrated is to listen to music and breathe a different way. I’d also read a book earlier that was similar to this book, except it was about impulses and stories about people making decisions without thinking. Though that other book was more entertaining with real-life stories, this book is much more informative in giving you insight of what happens inside our brains that cause us to be angry. It has a diagram of a brain showing the amygdala, which I learned is where anger/many other emotions begin. It also explains other elements in our bodies. This information is vital to know if you get mad frequently—it deepens your understanding of our brains, too. After I read it, I do feel as though I know what goes on inside our heads with anger after reading this book. In addition to learning more, I found out that teens who use alcohol and drugs are much more likely to do harm when disturbed, and that girls can be as aggressive as boys are. This fact specifically interested me, because I'd always thought that girls usually express their anger socially, like gossip. While facts like these spread your horizon of anger itself, it can sometimes be a bit boring and feel like a bunch of facts being thrown in your face, and sometimes you want to stop reading. But the writing style is just right—it doesn’t sound like a guidance counselor’s voice, wanting you to “open up” and describe your emotions. I know that most teens do not like to “open up” to other people. This book doesn’t require you to—it is simple and straightforward, though it does advise you to contact a therapist if your anger turns into major violence. Other than that, it simply makes sure you understand the concept of anger and what is really happening in our brains.
Overall, Out of Control is a great book to discover what anger is made up of and the science of it—you can even learn more about yourself from its quizzes and questionnaires. Although it is slow and boring at times, especially when explaining the brain while we are angry. I’d recommend this book to 12-year-olds to 18-year-olds, because they are the main victims of pressure in middle/high school, and those are the book’s target audience. They will be able to connect and relate to being stressed and achieving good grades. They might also learn more about themselves as a person, much like I did, as a 13-year-old.
Teenagers face all kinds of pressure, (which is a factor in contributing to anger), like getting good grades, getting your homework done in time, friend issues, rumors going around, and so on. DiConsiglio listed many of his solutions as to how to manage and relieve the pressure in a teen’s life. There are breathing techniques, art therapy, exercise relief, listening to music, writing down your thoughts—all those things are DiConsiglio's solutions and will help soothe anger and unwind. If these methods don’t work for you, you can always contact a therapist to schedule an appointment with you. In my opinion, I thought these solutions are hard to apply to your everyday life, especially when your impulse wants to control you. From personal experience, I know that when I'm angry, I don't want to calm down, even though these solutions do help. The last thing I'd want to do when I'm frustrated is to listen to music and breathe a different way. I’d also read a book earlier that was similar to this book, except it was about impulses and stories about people making decisions without thinking. Though that other book was more entertaining with real-life stories, this book is much more informative in giving you insight of what happens inside our brains that cause us to be angry. It has a diagram of a brain showing the amygdala, which I learned is where anger/many other emotions begin. It also explains other elements in our bodies. This information is vital to know if you get mad frequently—it deepens your understanding of our brains, too. After I read it, I do feel as though I know what goes on inside our heads with anger after reading this book. In addition to learning more, I found out that teens who use alcohol and drugs are much more likely to do harm when disturbed, and that girls can be as aggressive as boys are. This fact specifically interested me, because I'd always thought that girls usually express their anger socially, like gossip. While facts like these spread your horizon of anger itself, it can sometimes be a bit boring and feel like a bunch of facts being thrown in your face, and sometimes you want to stop reading. But the writing style is just right—it doesn’t sound like a guidance counselor’s voice, wanting you to “open up” and describe your emotions. I know that most teens do not like to “open up” to other people. This book doesn’t require you to—it is simple and straightforward, though it does advise you to contact a therapist if your anger turns into major violence. Other than that, it simply makes sure you understand the concept of anger and what is really happening in our brains.
Overall, Out of Control is a great book to discover what anger is made up of and the science of it—you can even learn more about yourself from its quizzes and questionnaires. Although it is slow and boring at times, especially when explaining the brain while we are angry. I’d recommend this book to 12-year-olds to 18-year-olds, because they are the main victims of pressure in middle/high school, and those are the book’s target audience. They will be able to connect and relate to being stressed and achieving good grades. They might also learn more about themselves as a person, much like I did, as a 13-year-old.
May 1, 2012
it has good ways to make u think before u do
April 24, 2015
A nonfiction book on how to control your anger. It gives tips and stories of young people who have anger management issues. Great book to understand anger issues.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews