Create a reflection paper that focuses on your own experiences with anger. Primarily discuss what it’s like for you to feel angry. Is anger easy or challenging for you to express? How do you feel when you are angry? Are you able to set boundaries with others?

Use the prompts below to focus your discussion. You will not be able to include all of the material prompted. Choose the topics that feel most important to you, and use anecdotes if you feel they would be particularly illustrative of your experience.

Anger and the Nine Domains

Which messages do/have you receive(d) about anger in relation to your

• Family of Origin

• How does your family express anger?

• How does your family cope with conflict?

• How did your parents respond to you when you expressed anger?

• Age

• Does your age affect your ability to express anger?

• Physiology

• What happens in your body when you feel angry (i.e., Do you get hot? Do you cry?

Do you shut down? Where do you feel it—in your chest, stomach, arms, legs?)?

• Gender

• What do cultural norms for your gender suggest about your feelings of anger?

• Sexual Orientation

• Is there a relationship between anger and your sexual orientation (e.g., Do others express anger toward you? Do you have anger toward others?)?

• Ethnicity

• Does your ethnicity have rules or norms about anger or how to express it?

• Religion/Spirituality

• What do your religious/spiritual practices say about expressing anger?

• Race

• Does the culture around you inhibit or support your expression of anger?

• Socioeconomic Status

• Does your SES at times affect your ability to express anger toward others?

You may have a lot to write about these domains, so only choose what is most important to you.