a) "I predict that I will be victimized in the future as I have been in the past."
b) "This prediction is scary and painful. It is my responsibility to relieve this pain in any way I can."
c) "If I can prevent the victimization from happening, I won't get hurt."
d) "I will try to prevent bad things from happening by increasing my knowledge of what is going on."
e) "It is important that I know what people are thinking. If it is bad news, I can try to head it off at the pass."
f) "I must know what is going to happen in the future by asking questions in the present. Knowledge is power. When I do not know the future, I feel painfully powerless and out of control. I must find a way to relieve this pain."This multi-faceted scenario is not conscious or rational. It has nothing to do with solving real life problems in the present. Since Cliff feels inadequate to cope with life in the present, "control through knowing" is his way of overcompensating for his perceived deficiencies. His solution to this problem cannot work. His problems do not get better, they get worse, and they ultimately turn into a crisis. His life is one crisis after another. When he learns how to cope with life as a self-respecting human being, his crises will come much farther apart. Since Cliff cannot know what people are thinking or what the future will bring, he cannot control his life or prevent the disasters that he predicts for himself. He feels out of control most of the time. He has set himself up for a lifetime of anxiety.8. Anxiety is a feeling of dread, that something terrible is going to happen at any minute.
As a victim, Cliff lives with anxiety. He is not aware of his anxiety as such because he has become used to it over the years. These are some of the basic assumptions that contribute to anxiety:a) Cliff feels inadequately prepared to take life as it comes.
b) He lives his life on other peoples' terms. Since we cannot really know what their terms are, his life is going to be unpredictable and insecure.
c) Since he has no hope of success, he can only predict disaster in the future.
d) He lives in the future in order to keep the feared disaster from happening.
e) He defines security in terms of external and internal defense mechanisms which do not work in the real world.
f) He defines control in bizarre ways that leave him more out of control.
g) Cliff's anger is out of control. When his anger is out of control, he is out of control. He experiences his out of control anger as anxiety.9. A major component of Cliff's anxiety is his anger at himself. When bad things happen, not only does he perceive them as a personal victimization, but he is angry at himself for failing to prevent them from happening in spite of his intense but useless efforts to do so. This anger at himself is out of his conscious control. He is not even aware that it is down there. He is preoccupied with his conscious anger at the source of his current distress, i.e., his boss. This preoccupation keeps him from identifying his self anger. It never goes away. He displaces his self anger onto other people who do not deserve it. Sometimes they displace it right back, confirming his victim role and perpetuating his anxiety.10. Humorlessness - As with many victims, Cliff makes the twin mistakes of:a) Taking people seriously when he should not,b) Not taking them seriously when he should.He does not have a sense of humor because a lifetime of anticipating victimization precludes the luxury of lightening up and appreciating the absurdity of the human condition. He lacks the adult judgment to discern when people are kidding and when they are not. As a consequence, he reacts inappropriately to most situations and is then victimized. Perversely, he sees humor when other people are victimized. He feels superior to them; he is relieved that it wasn't him this time.11. Inappropriate Responsibility - As the victim child in his family, Cliff assumes so much inappropriate responsibility for warding off victimization that he neglects his real responsibilities. Once again, the consequences of his misplaced priorities will be negative. He then assumes responsibility for his victimization, but in the wrong way. "I should have seen it coming," he says. He feels guilty and angry at himself. He does not learn the right lessons from these disasters, he merely reinforces the wrong ones, over and over.His wife, Naomi, is an irresponsible victim. She spends her life seeking exemption from her appropriate responsibilities because she feels that she will only fail anyway, so why bother? She "forgets" to pay the bills because she "knows" in advance that she will make a botch of it. She is incapable of seeing how these exemptions from her household tasks may be contributing to her victimization. When Cliff complains about her carelessness, she feels victimized. She says, "It's not my fault! You made me forget." This is the flip side of the fault coin. She denies "fault" because she imagines that as long as she remains "faultless" she cannot be punished. This technique, too, works in reverse. It makes Cliff angrier than he was before, and he feels entitles to punish her for making him angry.When these two fight about finances, they imagine that the issue is money. Money is only the occasion for the real issue, which is preventing spousal victimization. When Naomi asks for food money, Cliff feels taken advantage of, unappreciated and threatened with loss of control over his paycheck. When Cliff says, "No," Naomi feels forced to submit to his control, as she had to submit to male tyranny in her childhood. She resents it now as she resented it then. She protects, defends, rebels, all in vain. Her coping techniques are no more successful now than when she was nine. These two become super angry at each other without even knowing why. Their perception of victimization arises out of an issue that lies still farther down, their contempt for themselves and for each other. "Anyone who would pick me out is worthy of my contempt and deserves to be treated accordingly." Their relationship is based on mutual contempt.Cliff cannot be happy. It would be inconsistent with his role of the victim. He has learned that, for him, happiness is only temporary, so why bother? Not only is happiness short-lived, but Cliff has also learned that it always ends in disaster and that he will be the victim of it. Therefore, he cannot enjoy his brief moments of happiness when they come because he "knows" that they will end painfully at any minute. When his wife tries to make him happy, he sabotages her every time. This is another technique that he uses to prevent disaster. Since Cliff "knows" that his happiness is going to end in disaster anyway, and the suspense is killing him, he brings about the disaster he expects in order to "get it over with," sooner rather than later. When it happens, it confirms his prophecies of disaster ("I told you so. I knew it was to good to last"); it confirms his role as the victim. It is the only role he has. He has maintained his consistency once again.12. Super-Sensitivity - When Cliff receives criticism, he mistakenly confuses his personhood with the imperfection being criticized. He may, for instance, confuse his boss's criticism of his tardiness with the invalidation of his worth as a person. Invalidation is very painful. His super-sensitivity to slights is supposed to be a defense against being hurt, but like most of his "solutions" to his problems, this one doesn't work, either. Cliff is so busy seeking solace for his wounded feelings that he fails to change the habits that get him in trouble. He is setting himself up for still another "victimization" the next time he is late. He thinks that he is "sensitive," when in fact he is insensitive to any pain but his own. He confuses his vulnerability to overreacting with "sensitivity".13. Fortune-Telling - Cliff, like most victims, spends much of his life in the future:
a) He defines control in terms of preventing bad things from happening; tomorrow,
next week or next year.
b) He consistently prophesies disaster for himself. He does not "deserve" to expect
anything else. He tries so hard to prevent disasters from happening that he fails to live his life in the present tense.
c) He predicts that he is going to be victimized. He can not stand the suspense, so he
arranges to speed the process up. When it does happen, he says, "I knew it would happen." He cannot see how he arranged to fulfill his negative expectations. It would ruin the whole scenario if he did
Cliff tries to ward off anticipated victimization by pleasing others in the hope that
they will not hurt him. These others sense and resent his ulterior motives in pleasing them. They hold him in contempt and victimize him for his pains. He consistently tries to please the people he shouldn't please while neglecting to please those he should, such as his employer and his family members.14. Suffering Pays - Cliff has learned that happiness does not pay. What does that leave? Suffering. At least suffering doesn't end in disaster and there is no painful suspense. To him, these are all "advantages." Moreover, Cliff has learned to use his suffering and make it pay-off. It is all he has going for him. If they ever take away his suffering, he would be in big trouble. He would not be able to trade on it; he might even be happy and he "knows" how that would end. This is his private logic and we cannot argue with it. It wouldn't help if we did.One negative payoff for his suffering may be the attention that he receives when he suffers. Another payoff may be his feeling of "moral superiority" over those who have not suffered as he has. This type of suffering victim is called "the Martyr." Some victims use their suffering to exempt themselves from the tasks of life. They feel inadequately prepared to cope with the adult responsibilities of life and can only predict failure for themselves. Their agenda is to prevent their failure by getting out of their responsibilities before it is too late. They want to exempt themselves from their assigned duties and yet still receive the benefits from them. They malinger, they go on sick leave, they do not make him happy, they are the misery that he prefers to the even worse nursery of trying to succeed and failing. Many of them succeed at this for a time. When they fail, it is through the fault of others. In the meantime, they are exempt from guilt, fault, blame and responsibility. It is not their fault that they have this "condition." They really do not see how they arranged all this as their solution to problems of daily living.We have made the understandable mistake of taking this victimization or grievance more personally than reality requires us to take it. Our perception of ourselves as a helpless, "stupid" victim results in a dangerous loss of self-worth. We cannot respect people who allow these tragedies to befall them. It happened in our world, so it is somehow our fault, our responsibility. This is a carryover of our childhood feeling of egocentrism, when we stood at the center of our world as we perceived it. This inappropriate attitude from the past sets us up for more pain that we need to feel. We need to sort out the pain that is real from the pain that arises out of mistaken attitudes and other childhood vulnerabilities.The antidote to this aspect of our suffering is to regain the self-respect that we had before the event. Perhaps our self-respect was built on a shaky foundation. "I can respect myself as long as I don't encounter any problems that I cannot handle." According to this self-imposed condition, we can no longer respect ourselves under the present circumstances. We need to replace that definition of self-respect with one that is less conditional and less porous. We need to find a way to experience ourselves as worthwhile human beings in spite of our faults and imperfections, one of which is that we are constitutionally incapable of being in two places at the same time or that we lack the courage to beat off three muggers with loaded guns. These imperfections in our nature are acceptable and we can accept ourselves in spite of them. No one has ever told us that; we must tell ourselves.As one step in the healing process, we need to regain control of our rage. We can begin to manage our anger by writing an anger letter. It does not matter if someone reads it. It is not for their benefit but for ours. Afterwards, we will be in a stronger position to write the next anger letter, which is harder. The next letter is to ourselves. We need to start writing a letter to ourselves and to see what we bring up from the depths. We can identify specific criticisms that we have towards ourselves, which makes them easier to put in an appropriate perspective. We can use our rational faculties now to see that we are not guilty of being incapable. We need not be angry at ourselves at all. We are angry that it happened and at the undeserved, unfair changes that it makes in our lives. We can choose to write it down and get the anger out before it turns to poison and spreads.The last stage of the anger management process would be to forgive those who caused this pain. We often balk at forgiving the perpetrator, for we "do not want to give him the satisfaction," or we do not wish to "condone" his behavior. We may even imagine that we can prevent a repetition of the crime by harboring a grudge against him forever. We cannot forgive because what he did was "wrong;" if it were "right," we wouldn't have to forgive him at all. These are all faulty attitudes from our childhood, which impede the healing process. They are based on the false premise that the process of forgiveness is for another's benefit, which it is not. He will never know about it. It is to help us recover our sanity sooner rather than later.And who else must we forgive? We must forgive ourselves for our "failure" to foresee the event and prevent it from happening. This anger at ourselves is based on absurd premises, but it is very real. Our emotions do not care whether they are based on solid ground or not. They have no eyes and they cannot see; they have no brains and they cannot think. We have brains and we must think. We must use our adult judgment to make appropriate choices. Then, we must put our choices into action.One action we can take is to write our forgiveness down in a letter so that we can validate our experience and make it real. Writing it down helps to bridge the gap between our head and our heart. It helps us to repair that which has been torn apart. We need to take action in the real world on our own behalf. If we do not, no one will. In writing our forgiveness letter, we are doing something that victims cannot do. Victims have no power to forgive, self-respecting people do.
http://angerclinic.com/http://sites.google.com/site/aaronkarmin/Aaron Karmin MA, LCPC. Through Roosevelt University he holds an advanced certification in stress management which involves teaching six mind-body techniques which enhances relaxation. Aaron has worked at all levels of mental health care from inpatient to outpatient, private to community, not for profit to Fortune 500 executives. He is a highly effective guest lecturer, group therapy leader, and individual therapist who is able to discuss a variety of topics including: Anger Management, Leadership, Relaxation Techniques, Communication Skills, and Goal Setting Strategies. Aaron recognizes the need for flexibility and creativity to address the mind and body and uses solution-based instructions to promote a healthy lifestyle. His approach to anger management focuses on increasing frustration tolerance and impulse control by understanding triggers, identifying physical cues, recognizing thoughts, considering consequences, implementing solutions, choosing behaviors, and promoting expression. When individuals feel in control of their situations and their lives, their depression and anxiety are replaced with feelings of security, confidence, competence, identity, responsibility, belonging, and self-respect, which is the prerequisite for success at h
Related Posts :
- Stihl 3003 008 6821 Rollomatic E Laminated Chain Saw Bar 20inch
- Ingersoll Rand 2100g 1 2inch Edge Series Air Impactool Silver
- Jari Kurri Signed Hockey Puck Team Finland Olympic Autographed Nhl Pucks
- James Shaffer Signed Korn Munky 8x10 W Proof Coa G Signed Photographs
- St Suspension 90212 Coilover Kit For Bmw E36 M3 Set Of 4
- Lee Brice Country Music Signed Guitar Acoustic Autographed Certificate Of Authenticity Psa Dna T76321
- Bob Feller Autographed Baseball W Full Name Robert William Coa Jsa Certified Autographed Baseballs
- Chris Calloway Nfl New York Giants Hand Signed 8x10 Photograph Blue Jersey
- Westinghouse 78108 Petite 6blade 30inch 3speed Huggerstyle Ceiling Fan With Light White
- Kamik Men S Goliath1 Coldweather Boot
- Spi Home 50793 Contented Yoga Frog Garden Sculpture
- Angeles 12 Trike
- Carter P5001 Electrical Fuel Pump
- Seafolly Women S Lucia D Cup Maillot One Piece
- 2008 Stanger Pinot Noir Reserve 750 Ml
- Wheel Of The Year Plaque
- Adam Jones Baltimore Orioles Mlb Framed And Matted Photo 2012 Action 20x24 Photo
- Supersonic 7 Portable Lcd Tv With Atsc Digital Tuner Ac Dc Adapter And Rechargeable Battery Sc195d
- Xport Design S Men S Super Soft Sheep Premium Black Genuine Leather Jacket
- Danner Men S Station Office Boot 6 Casual Shoes
- Pittsburgh Pirates Bat Boy Game Issued Grey Pinstripe Road Jersey
- Crepes Suzette W Cherry Berry Barette Scent
- Hp 74xl Hp 75xl Tricolor Inkjet Cartridges In Foil Packagingblack
- Gary Payton Autographed Orange Oregon State Jersey Psa Dna
- Caddis Men S Green Natural Breathable Stocking Foot Wader
- Aerosoles Women S Alcove Fashion Pump
- Lafuma Transabed Xl Folding Chair
- Lanzar Vct2410 4000 Watt 2 Channel High Power Mosfet Amplifier
- Frank Gore Autographed San Francisco 49ers Red Jersey Psa Dna
- Mcfarlane Toys Alien Vs Predator Movie Action Figure Celtic Predator
- Fissler Solea High Saucepan 2quart Capacity
- Autographed Joe Morgan Ball Official Rawlings Onl Ar Loa Autographed Baseballs
- Healthsmart 10 Piece Element Cookware With Thermo Control Knobs
- Wilhelm Hoyt Autographed Hand Signed Hall Of Fame Plaque Post Card
- Bart Starr Signed Jersey Mvp Sb I Ii Insc Aaa Autographed Nfl Jerseys
- Frigidaire Ffcm0724lb 0 7 Cu Ft Countertop Microwave Black
- Luna Premium Hypoallergenic Zippered Bed Bug Proof Mattress Encasement 11 Height Queen Size Made In The Usa
- Invicta Men S 1876 Iforce Chronograph Green Dial Green Cloth Watch
- Dick Vermell Autographed Hand Signed Kansas City Chiefs 8x10 Photo Free Shipping Black Custom Frame
- Onkyo Txsr573s 7 1 Channel Surround Receiver
- Autographed Hundley Photo 8x10 Black Custom Frame Autographed Mlb Photos
- Pearl D900 Throne Memory Foam Cushion
- Weatherresistant Square Wicker Planter In White
- Dell Optiplex 740 Desktop Pc With 2 4 Ghz Amd 2 Gb Ram 80gb Hard Dive
- Img 8
- Thurman Thomas Autographed Hand Signed Osu Jersey 8587 All American Psa Dna
- Zmodo Kdb8barbz8zn500gb 8channel H 264 Dvr With 500gb Hdd And 8 Cmos 480tvl 65feet Ir Outdoor Security Cameras
- Curt 56200 Pwmst Power Converter With Circuit Protection
- Danny Trejo And Michelle Rodriguez Autographed Machete Replica Machete W Insc
- Berkshire Blankets By Delaney Classic Wool Plaid Blanket Full Queen
- Autographed Chris Carpenter Picture Wolrd Series Jsa Coa 8x10 Autographed Mlb Photos
- Invicta Men S 10096 Subaqua Reserve Black Textured Dial Watch
- 04 Toyota Sienna Van Tail Light Lh Driver Side Van Assy Mounted On Side Panel 2004 04 T730114 81560ae010
- Hobart 195157r Replacement Gun For Handler 125ez And Handler 125 Wire Welders
- Kate Spade New York Women S Carmelina Flat
- Pentax Optio Wg2 Azure Blue Waterproof 16mp Digital Camera Ready For Adventure Kit Includes Optio Wg2 Blue
- Original Penguin Men S Houndstooth Trapper
- Al Jackson Signed Baseball Inscribed Original Mets Autographed Baseballs
- Rafael Belliard Autographed Signed Atlanta Braves Baseball 8x10 Photo
- Patagonia Rain Shadow Jacket Woman S
- Tom Moore Sp Comc Reviewed Authentic Green Bay Packers Football Card 1962 Post Cereal 10
- Fcs 1332323r Complete Strut Assembly
- Edsal Mrwb6 Heavy Duty 16 Gauge Steel Workbench 72 Width X 60 Height X 24 Depth
- General Henry H Hap Arnold Photograph Signed
- Strong Steel Fork Frame 20 Inches Diameter Wheel Red Unicycle W Stand Large Saddle Seat Al Rim For Adult Training
- Tantric Autographed Signed Flag Guitar Psa Dna Dual Certified Signed Guitars
- Pro Armor P081027 Black Front Bumper
- Novoflex Adapter For Leica M Lens To Sony Nex Camera
- American Crew Daily Conditioner 15 2 Oz
- Weathertech Custom Fit Front Floorliner For Nissan Frontier Crew Cab Grey
- Fernando Vargas Signed Glove Autographed Boxing Gloves
- Fender Dg60 Acoustic Guitar Sunburst
- Pearl Izumi Men S Elite Inrcool Tri Singlet
- W C Redmon Precision Digital Pet Scale Small
- Weathertech Custom Fit Rear Floorliner For Subaru Impreza Forester Black
- Pendleton Men S Coleman Polo
- Cac China Hmy16 101 2inch Harmony Porcelain Plate White Box Of 12
- 3 8 X 150 Ft Shock Cord Blk
- Gilded Barn Bone Block Frame 5 By 7inch
- S S Cycle Hydraulic Tappets 335352
- Calphalon Enamel Cast Iron Rectangular Baker Cabernet Red
- Signed 8x10 Photo Bill Pullman 12658 Psa Dna Certified Autographed Nfl Photos
- 14 Rigid Suntunnel With Low Profile Metal Flashing Impact Dome
- Daredevil Issue 92 Page 01
- Dip Dyed Ombre Maxi Dress Navy
- New Balance Women S Wr758 Running Shoe
- Luna Mahogany Series Tattoo Concert Acousticelectric Ukulele
- Qvs 100 Meter Vga Qxga Extender Wallplate Kit
- Artificial Ficus In Rattan Planter Color Green
- Jeff Bagwell Signed Photo 8x10 Psa Dna Certified Autographed Mlb Photos
- Autographed Fearsome Foursome 16x20 Lithograph
- Democracy Women S Crew Neck Long Sleeve With Cable Knot Sweater
- Bailey Howell Signed Letter Hof Pistons Psa Coa
- Safavieh Classics Collection Cl763a Handmade Gold And Red Wool Area Rug 6feet By 9feet
- Tom Lasorda Autographed Baseball 1983 Topps Card 306 Psa Dna Authentic Signed Mlb Baseball Cards
- Class On Demand Complete Training For Boris Red 4 Educational Training Tutorial Dvdrom With Steve Oakley 97050
- Bestop 7912536 Khaki Diamond Sailcloth Replaceatop Soft Top With Clear Windows No Door Skins Included For
- Hawking Hwabn1 Higain Wireless300n Access Point Bridge White
- Red 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 Honda Accord Dx Ls Ex Lowering Coilover Spring Kits
- Vin Baker Autographed Seattle Supersonics 8x10 Photo Black Custom Frame