In Control: No More Snapping at Your Family, Sulking at Work, Steaming in the Grocery Line, Seething in Meetings, Stuffing Your Frustration

by Redford Williams, Virginia Williams

Overview

In this life-changing book—now available in paperback—the creators of the internationally acclaimed Lifeskills workshops draw on groundbreaking research to show readers how to deal with the stresses in their lives that often cause them to lose control. Working equally well for "hot reactors," who tend to blow up when things don't go their way, and "cool reactors," who are more likely to repress their emotions, the easy-to-follow 8-week program will help anyone to cope effectively with a variety of difficult circumstances, from volatile situations at home and at work to smaller annoyances like traffic jams and long checkout lines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594866258
Publisher:	Rodale Press, Inc.
Publication date:	02/06/2007
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	800,901
Product dimensions:	5.69(w) x 9.03(h) x 0.77(d)

About the Author

REDFORD WILLIAMS, MD, is director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center, professor of psychology, professor of psychiatry, and professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center.

VIRGINIA WILLIAMS, PhD, is president of Williams Lifeskills, Inc. Together, this husband and wife team coauthored Anger Kills and Lifeskills, and developed the world-renowned Lifeskills workshops. They live outside of Durham, North Carolina.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction: Life's Winners     xi
Live Longer and Laugh More
The Scientific Perspective: The Skills You'll Learn Could Save Your Life     3
Are You in Control?     32
Gaining Control
Week 1: Recognize Your Emotions     45
Week 2: Weigh the Evidence     68
Week 3: Gain Control of Your Reactions     89
Week 4: Resolve Problems and Implement Solutions     108
Week 5: Assert Yourself and Learn to Say No     128
Week 6: Improve Communication When Speaking and Listening     166
Week 7: Empathize with Others     196
Week 8: Learn to Look Up     211
Epilogue: Welcome to Life More Under Your Control     233
The Self-Assessment Quiz     235
Notes     241
Index     249

Editorial Reviews

Few authors outline the adverse health consequences of anger as well as Redford and Virginia Williams. Their new book relates their years of research in the field, study of behavioral skills, and real-life examples so that readers may ultimately recognize their emotions and remain as their title suggests—In Control

Congressman Tim Murphy

Redford Williams, who teaches psychology and medicine at Duke, has researched the link between hostility and life-threatening illness. In an earlier book, Anger Kills, he and his wife, Virginia, began to write about anger management, and this follow-up presents a comprehensive guide to emotional management, with a solid eight-week program to teach readers how to process negative emotions in healthy ways. The program applies not only to those who actively express anger but to "passive" individuals who "stuff" anger away. The program begins with teaching readers how to identify what they're feeling (e.g., why do you overeat?) and ends with learning to have a more positive outlook. The book also takes a close look at how similar situations are approached emotionally by different people to get far different results. In Control gives the reader simple quizzes as well as time to think through and follow focused exercises week by week. 10 b&w illus. (Mar.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Husband and wife Redford (director, Behavioral Medicine Research Ctr.; psychology, psychiatry, & medicine, Duke Univ.) and Williams (president, Williams Lifeskills, Inc.) coauthored Anger Kills and Lifeskills. Their latest collaboration presents an eight-week, easy-to-follow program that teaches readers how to handle anger in various situations. The material is aimed at both "hot reactors"-folks who tend to overact when things don't go their way-and "cool reactors," those more likely to swallow their emotions. Following a succinct introduction to emotional control and scientific data on emotional intelligence, the authors break down their program, discussing how to gain control of reactions, resolve problems and implement solutions, empathize with others, and more. The material includes program participants' success stories as well as tales of the authors' own struggles with anger control and a handy self-assessment tool. This book concentrates more on anger management than does Neil H. Katz's Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills or Dudley Weeks's The Eight Essential Steps to Conflict Resolution and nicely covers both ends of the anger management spectrum. Highly recommended for public libraries.-Dale Farris, Groves, TX Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Redford Williams, who teaches psychology and medicine at Duke, has researched the link between hostility and life-threatening illness. In an earlier book, Anger Kills, he and his wife, Virginia, began to write about anger management, and this follow-up presents a comprehensive guide to emotional management, with a solid eight-week program to teach readers how to process negative emotions in healthy ways. The program applies not only to those who actively express anger but to "passive" individuals who "stuff" anger away. The program begins with teaching readers how to identify what they're feeling (e.g., why do you overeat?) and ends with learning to have a more positive outlook. The book also takes a close look at how similar situations are approached emotionally by different people to get far different results. In Control gives the reader simple quizzes as well as time to think through and follow focused exercises week by week. 10 b&w illus. (March)” —Publisher's Weekly

From the Publisher