IGC Conference South Dublin/Wicklow

2014

Managing Anger in Changing Times

A Human Givens Approach

Everybody experiences anger from time to time

• Anger is genetically programmed - natural• Part of the ancient flight or fight response• Helps to motivate ourselves • Helps us to defend ourselves• A perception of unjust treatment

However,• Excessive anger is highly dangerous

Managing Anger

• Human Givens Approach• Emotional Needs • Resources – Innate Guidance System• The Emotional Brain• APET• Managing Anger

What is the Human Givens Approach?

The Human Givens project began: Inquiry - essence of psychotherapy Determine - what is useful to patients, in which disorders, and why.

The Human Givens Approach - described as a larger organising idea that integrates the best practice from existing therapies.

It is a psycho-social-bio model Informed by:

Research (into the effectiveness of Counselling techniques). Interdisciplinary knowledge from many other sciences.

Joe Griffin (Research Psychologist) Ivan Tyrell (Psychotherapist)

Laws of living creatures

• All “life forms” need to take nutriments from their environment to be healthy and thrive.

• The nutriments we humans need to take; include (1) Physical nutriments (2) Emotional nutriments.

• Nature has given us the internal guidance systems to get our needs met.

• It follows then, that with the right balance of nutriments and the capability to incorporate those nutriments correctly into itself, a living organism must be healthy and progressing.

Human Givens

• These Human Givens are the basic framework for understanding healthy humans.

• Needs (met in balance) – Physical – Emotional

• Innate Guidance System – Not being misused – No physical, genetic or psychological damage

Physical Health (needs)• Air • Water• Nutrition• Sleep• Exercise• Shelter

Emotional Needs

• Security - a sense of being safe• Autonomy and Control over our lives• Emotional Connection to other people• Connection to a wider community• Attention – giving and receiving• Privacy to reflect and consolidate experience• Status – being accepted and valued• Competence and Achievement• Meaning and Purpose

Needs met Needs not met

Security and Safety

Autonomy and Control

Emotional Connection and Intimacy

Connection to a Wider Community

Achievement and Competency

Status

Privacy

Attention – to give and receive

Meaning and Purpose

What stops us getting our needs met?

• Environment - Stress, bullying, bereavement work/family issues,

• Missing coping skills – innate guidance system isn’t being used properly

• Innate Guidance System is damaged - Trauma, brain injury, autism

Resources: Innate Guidance System• Complex Long Term Memory• Conscious Rational Mind• Rapport and Empathy • Imagination• Pattern matching• Dreaming brain• Observing self

Problem solving and Memory

• Ability to look at complex situations

• To think things out, analyse, plan and adapt

• To learn from experience

• To remember and add new knowledge to innate knowledge

Imagination

Enables us to focus away from our emotions and problem solve.

To imagine how things might be different to create a different future

Unfortunately it is often misused

Dreaming Brain

defuses emotional arousal not acted out during the day

The Observing Self

Ability to step back into our ‘observing self’ or ‘self awareness’

See ‘the bigger picture’

Be more objective

Pattern Matching• understand the

world unconsciously

• metaphorical associations

• (right hemisphere)

Emotional Health

Our innate physical and emotional needs, combined with the innate resourceswhich help us get these needs met,

are known as:

The Human Givens Approach

Neocortex V Limbic System

Amygdela = emotion and memoryIt’s role is to protect us from harm

Role of Emotions

High Emotional Arousal hijacks the neo-cortex and switches it off

Responses:• Flight, Fight, Freeze• Anxiety, Worry, Depression• Stress, Phobias, PTSD• Anger • Addiction

You can’t be in ‘both brains’ at the same time!

Limbic System• Necessary to keep

us safe• Strong influence• Watch dog/security• It does not think, it reacts to stimuli.• It can get things

wrong• Black and white

thinking

Innate Guidance System

• Problem solving• Memory• Imagination• Rapport• Pattern matching• Dreaming brain• Observing brain

The APET model that underlines the human givens approach

A P E T Activating Pattern Emotional Thought agent matching arousal (maybe)

Our Emotional Healthis on a continuum

Impact of Excessive Anger

• At Work.......... Stress, bullying, aggression• Accidents........ Road Rage• Violence.......... Daily news, domestic

violence, nurses, teachers• Relationships... Anger undermines

relationships, criticism damages self-esteem

• Health............. Chronic anger affects immune system

How Anger affects our body

• Extra adrenaline is secreted• Our heart beats more rapidly• Blood pressure rises• Blood is diverted to the heart and muscles• Glucose is freed to provide energy for action• Digestion is suspended• Cortisol production is increased• Men have an increased supply of testosterone

What does anger look like?

Our Subjective view• A feeling of energy• A feeling of warmth• Heart palpitations• Faster breathing• A desire to yell• A urge to move our

limbs quickly and forcefully

What others observe• Eyes open widely• Voice is louder• Face contorted• Muscles clenched• Facial colour deepens• Speech quickens• Movements quicker• We ‘lose it’

Reduce emotional arousal by

• Reflective listening gives a sense of being heard

• Introduce and practice 7/11 breathing

• Explain the ‘emotional hijack’ of anger

• Do an Emotional Needs Audit

7/11-Breathing to Relax

• Allow yourself to breath into the bottom of your lungs so your stomach inflates

• Breath out slowly as your stomach deflates

• The outer breath stimulates the body’s natural relaxation response

• Your body automatically relaxes

‘Emotional Hijack’

• Explain how the emotional brain hijacks the ‘modern brain’, take back control

Do an Emotional Needs Audit

ENA is a very useful framework to

- Identify what is / is not going right in your life- Identify what is causing excessive stress

- Even if only one is marked very low it can be enough of a problem to effect mental and emotional stability

Separate yourself from your anger

• Despite what you think you are not an angry person!

• Anger is not an intrinsic part of you

• ‘What can I do to stop anger taking hold of me?

• ‘I refuse to let anger get to me’

Take back control of your imagination

• Our amygdela does not know the difference between imaginings and the reality

• Stop running scenarios and fantasies through your head that start you to rage

• Use your imagination positively to put you back in control of your emotions

Reframe the anger thoughts

• Traffic lights/jam –> an opportunity to relax and do 7/11 breathing

• Don’t take things personally

• The house is untidy –> ‘This is a home with a relaxed lived-in atmosphere’

Reframe!

The ABC of anger control

• Awareness of the Angry thought

• Block the angry thought

• Challenge the angry thoughtby thinking anti-angry thoughts – rational self statements

Distract yourself from the anger

• Remove yourself from the situation for at least 20 minutes to cool down

• Count backwards from 100 (in 7s)• Say the alphabet/months of the year backwards• Read something backwards

(these activities put you back in your thinking brain)

A Human Givens Approach to Emotional Health

• Exercise: Closing Angry Files

Mairéad FitzsimonsHuman Givens Therapist

• TEL: 087-6979294

• www.mairead.fitzsimons.ie

• www.hgi.org.uk

• Publications: www.humangivens.com/