This scale – from “Anger: Deal With It, Heal With It, Stop It From Killing You,” by William Gray DeFoore – might help you to become more aware of your anger and how to manage it effectively:

¢ Level 0. You are feeling totally calm and relaxed. You have no anger or irritation at any level.

¢ Level 1. You feel a very slight anxiety or irritability, but it’s not affecting your behavior.

¢ Level 2. The irritation/anxiety is a little higher, but still not enough to bother you or affect your behavior. You still can see the big picture. It is hard to relax.

¢ Level 3. You are starting to have negative responses to people, places and things around you. You are still keeping your anger inside. Your focus is starting to narrow slightly, but you still can think clearly and make good decisions.

¢ Level 4. You are starting to think about yelling at that other driver, but you don’t act on the feelings. Your tone with others might be just a little short, or you might try to cover your feelings by being extra nice. Tunnel vision is setting in.

¢ Level 5. You are definitely not having fun. You are mad at yourself, others or the world in general. You’re still in control of your behavior, but others can tell you’re not feeling that great. Your decision-making process is impaired.

¢ Level 6. You start thinking about getting away from some situation that is bothering you. You might fantasize about escaping somehow. You might also tell someone off at this point, but you make an effort to be controlled and even somewhat considerate. Your mental clarity has become erratic.

¢ Level 7. You are starting to say things to yourself like “This is driving me crazy,” “I can’t stand this anymore.” Your thoughts are racing, and your muscle tension is becoming noticeable.

¢ Level 8. A plan of action starts to form. Now your anger is so high that you are ready to do something about it. Your thinking is not clear and your plan of action might include revenge and retaliation or just a desire to hurt someone. You have become almost completely irrational.

¢ Level 9. You’re acting on your anger. You’re telling someone off and possibly trying to hurt him or “put him in his place” with your words. At this level, your thoughts are obsessed and totally focused on your pain, fear and anger.

¢ Level 10. You have become dangerous to yourself, others or both. You are in the depths of fight-or-flight, and your primitive survival-based brain has taken over. You have tunnel vision and single-minded thought. All you can think about is how to make the pain or stress stop. You are desperate, willing to take desperate action.

How you fared

Now see which of the following categories best describes you:

¢ Emotionally healthy: You live around a level of zero to 2 most of the time. In extreme circumstances, you may escalate to a 3 or even a 4, but you will take positive, effective action to resolve the problem and return to a sense of well-being.

¢ Mild anger issues: Most of the time you are around a 2 or a 3, but all too often you jump up to a 5 or a 6 – or even an 8 once in a while. A few times in your life you may have reached a 9 or a 10, but you’re determined never to go there again. Using anger-management resources, such as books and CDs, might be enough to help you reach your goals.

¢ Serious anger issues: You have to struggle almost daily not to lose your temper. You can jump pretty fast to a level of 8 or 9. You have reached a 10 a few times, but most of the time you can prevent that. You haven’t hurt anyone physically, but you are definitely hurting others with your words and actions. You may need professional help in addition to using anger-management self-help resources.

¢ Extreme anger issues: Your anger has control of you most of the time. People around you are not safe emotionally and maybe physically, and many times you endanger yourself as well. You may escalate from a 3 or a 4 (your normal level) to a 10 in a heartbeat. Your anger is running your life. You definitely need professional help as well as self-help programs.

For more information, go to www.defoore.com.