The Anger Advantage: The Surprising Benefits of Anger and How it Can Change a Woman's Life

About this book

Do you choke back frustrations with a romantic partner because youre afraid of breaking up? Do you feel trapped by negative family dynamics but guilty if you get angry at your loved ones? Are you afraid of showing your anger in professional settings for fear that you wont be taken seriously? Conventional wisdom tells us that anger is a dangerous emotionand that we should do whatever we can to temper it and keep it under wraps. For women anger is especially frowned upon: we view it as unflattering bitchy and a sure-fire way to sabotage our careers and relationships. But in fact angry emotions are one of the greatest gifts we possess. As authors Deborah Cox Sally Stabb and Karin Bruckner show in this landmark book when expressed openly and directly anger can be a remarkable positive tool for transforming womens lives. Based on the authors nationally acclaimed six-year study on the links between gender and anger The Anger Advantage offers women everywhere an entirely new paradigm for thinking about anger and shows why diverting it is rarely the best idea. Their findings showed that women who are uncomfortable with how they are being treated at home or work who try to hide their anger or struggle to voice tensions not only risk a host of physical ailmentssuch as headaches and depressionbut become hostages in stagnant unfulfilling relationships and lose touch with their own motivations and needs. In contrast women who embrace their angry emotions and learn to express them in open productive ways experience heightened intellectual clarity greater self-esteem and the passion and energy to spark life-altering change. The Anger Advantage guides you in evaluating your own anger patterns and then offers hands-on prescriptive strategies for using anger proactively in all areas of your life: at home at work in friendships and in love. As you learn to identify the roots of angry emotions and share your anger in a forthright positive way you will: gain clearer insight into who you are and what you want learn how to set and maintain healthy boundaries and forge stronger personal relationships alleviate any physical symptoms generated by unhealthy diversions of anger free yourself from unnecessary guilt shame and self-recrimination Warm insightful and empowering The Anger Advantage provides a groundbreaking window into womens anger that reveals why we shouldnt be afraid to express ourselvesand why angry emotions can be a guiding light in building rewarding fulfilling lives.