Self-Witnessing Report on the
Age of Rage
Personal Experiences of Rage
Charisse Ono
Psychology 409a
Spring 2001
Self Witnessing Rage
Cellular Phone Rage
Introduction:
Upon receiving my new cellular phone in the mail I was eager to begin using it. I
was disappointed because the I called the phone company via home phone seven working days
earlier and they stated that the delivery of my cellular phone would take 3-5 working
days. When I opened the box I was overwhelmed by the amount of papers that was
enclosed. first there was a packet full of informational handouts, instructions on
the envelope, and instructions on the box. I was confused because there were so many
different sets of instructions that I did not know which one to do first. I then did
the instructions according to how I felt it ranked in importance.
After about 25 minutes of reading and rereading the instructions I thought I was all set to begin usage on my phone. unfortunately I did not activate that phone. Since I received my phone on the Saturday I called the informational number for information on how to activate my phone. When I talked to the teller she said that I would have to call the local informational number, enclosed in the informational packets, to activate my phone. After hanging up the phone I began a search for the number. When I finally found it and called I was surprised that the number to activate my phone was only available during the weekday. In result I was greatly disappointed by the poor service displayed by my cellular phone company.
Three step Method
Step 1:
Acknowledge
After I opened the box and informational packets I soon became frustrated. I was
overwhelmed with all the information that was thrown at me. Also, there was
information from the main branch then information from the local branch. Both sets
of information were different but some of the information was repeated in both packets.
That frustrated me because I felt that my time was being wasted by reading
information twice. After I read the packets twice, I became enraged. After
reading all the information no information was given to me about how to activate my phone.
Step 2:
Sensorimotor
As I read and reread the paperwork I became frustrated. My body posture changed I continued to search for the instructions on how to activate my phone plan. As I spread out the papers on my bed my body began to slouch.
Cognitive
My thoughts ranged from blame on myself to blame to blame toward the phone company. As I continued to search I noticed that I would look for someone to blame. When I found an excuse I felt a little better, that is until I felt the need to find a someone else, or thing, to blame.
Affective:
Thought this experience I felt a range of unpleasant emotions. The highest emotion was rage. At that moment I just finished reading the paperwork for about the third time. At that point I felt that I did everything in my power to find the directions on how to activate.
Step 3:
Sensorimotor
Through my experience I realized that every part on my body and mind was centered on the topic of my rage. My body was reacting to the my experience. I first adjusted my body by fixing the paperwork in a pile. Then I sat up straight and went through the paperwork one last time.
Cognitive
As I attempted to fix my cognitive thoughts I calm thoughts. My main point was to eliminate the thoughts of self blame and blame on others.
Affective
The resolution of this experience occurred when I reminded myself that all people are human and make mistakes.
Summary:
| Sensorimotor | Cognitive | Affective | |
| Acknowledge | The moment I realized that I
was in rage was when I said: 1."This is really getting raged." |
********************** | ***************************** |
| Witness | Physically my body reacted by: 1. I began looking through the papers in a franticly 2. I was slouching over the papers |
Thoughts that ran through my
mind: 1."What am I missing?" 2."Why doesn't it work?" 3."I can't find it!" 4."What kind of phone is this?" |
Through this experience I
felt: 1. raged 2. irritated 3. frustrated |
| Modify | I adjusted my body by:
1. Sitting up straight 2. Organizing the papers so I could sit up |
My thoughts while I modified
my behavior was: 1. "The information has to be here." 2. "I'll just call tomorrow..." |
What thoughts modified my behavior: As I became raged in this experience I thought of how I make mistakes. When I thought of this it made me realize that everyone is human and that mistakes, no matter how annoying, is not intentional. |
Conclusion:
While doing research for this paper I found an article ,Controlling Anger Before it Controls You, that I found useful in this event of rage. During this episode of rage I was so consumed at they emotions that I was experiencing at that moment that I was not looking at the whole picture. Now when I think back I am able to see that the whole idea of getting upset over a phone being activated is such a minor thing to rage about. During this episode of rage I wish I took into consideration the idea of using "silly humor" to rid oneself from rage. If I did use this method I do not think that I would have experienced this episode of rage.
The following is an except from the article that I found most useful:
| Using Humor "Silly humor" can help defuse rage in a number of ways. For one thing, it can help you get a more balanced perspective. When you get angry and call someone a name or refer to them in some imaginative phrase, stop and picture what that word would literally look like. If you're at work and you think of a co-worker as a "dirt bag" or a "single-cell life form," for example, picture a large bag full of dirt (or an amoeba) sitting at your colleague's desk, talking on the phone, going to meetings. Do this whenever a name comes into your head about another person. If you can, draw a picture of what the actual thing might look like. This will take a lot of the edge off your fury; and humor can always be relied on to help unknot a tense situation. The underlying message of highly angry people, Dr. Deffenbacher says, is "things oughta go my way!" Angry people tend to feel that they are morally right, that any blocking or changing of their plans is an unbearable indignity and that they should NOT have to suffer this way. Maybe other people do, but not them! When you feel that urge, he suggests, picture yourself as a god or goddess, a supreme ruler, who owns the streets and stores and office space, striding alone and having your way in all situations while others defer to you. The more detail you can get into your imaginary scenes, the more chances you have to realize that maybe you are being unreasonable; you'll also realize how unimportant the things you're angry about really are. There are two cautions in using humor. First, don't try to just "laugh off" your problems; rather, use humor to help yourself face them more constructively. Second, don't give in to harsh, sarcastic humor; that's just another form of unhealthy anger expression. What these techniques have in common is a refusal to take yourself too seriously. Anger is a serious emotion, but it's often accompanied by ideas that, if examined, can make you laugh. |
For more information of the topic of
Rage that relates to phones, see my Report under the section Cellular Phone Rage.
Self-Witnessing Observations:
Shopping Rage
Pedestrian Rage
Discussion of Self-Witnessing Experiences
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