Amy Whinehouse, the British born Grammy award winning soul singer turned herself in to Holborn Police Station this weekend after being accused of assualt by slapping a man. She received a warning from the court after spending a night in custody.

The 26 year old singer has a history of drugs abuse and has particpated in at least 2 rehab prorgrams.

Alcohol and drug usage can limit one’s ability to manage anger.

According to a 1998 Department of justice report entitled Alcohol and Crime about three- million violent crimes occur each year in which victims perceive the offender to have been drinking at the time of the offense. These offenses include rape, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault. It is interesting to note that 35% of the victims identified themselves as being under the influence at the time of the offense.

It is extremely common for someone to be ordered to an anger management class after an evening of a druken fit. Many management clients would benefit from substance abuse interventions as well as an anger management course.

Daybreak Counseling Service
www.daybreakservices.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/angryinla
http://myspace.com/angermanagementeacher
310-995-1202

By Susan Levy

Most of us humans meander through life following the map their parents created for them. They often don’t pause or take the time and effort to appraise themselves to see if old thoughts and behaviors are still working for them working or against them.
Why? Because the thing that we are most afraid of and resistant to is “change”. Change can be awkward and uncomfortable – sometimes terrifying and emotionally painful. The most addicting thing of all is “familiarity”. We all love our comfort zone. It feels safe and it takes a lot less work to follow our original “map” then to look at ourselves and take stock of how well it is working for us. It has been said that “Most people die without ever knowing who they are”. We live on “automatic pilot” But, at what cost? We stay in the same airplane, viewing the same sights over and over and having the same experience repeatedly. We don’t learn anything new. We don’t grow. We don’t evolve into the best people we can be. Worst of all, until we are willing to look inside ourselves, we stay stuck in our old beliefs, thoughts and behaviors despite the reality that they may not be working anymore, or indeed are hampering our true happiness.

In many ways our fear of the unknown terrifies us into living life by “rote”. We stick to our beliefs and our world view and miss the incredible excitement and feeling of well being that comes from growing, learning new things and exploring. I think a lot of us would actually choose to take the risk of change, but don’t because they don’t know they are stuck in the terrain of their parents’ map.

If we do become “aware” (the key word) of this phenomenon at all it is almost always because we hit a wall with our old views. We suffer what is the only thing that makes people even contemplate change: “consequences”. We live in a rut, decorate it, and live unaware and sometimes smugly in our unchanging world – that is until we suffer a consequence of our old ways that is unacceptable to us. It takes enormous courage and willingness to examine ourselves, but nothing changes if nothing changes.

Over the years, for example, friends may have pointed out to you that the way you express anger is scary and they feel brutalized. You say:” That’s the way I’ve always been” or “That’s the way my dad was – if it was good enough for him, it’s good enough for me.”
We might keep losing important relationships due to our unrealistic expectations we’ve been taught (old map) or developed. We are unaware of our part in it and say: “Men are all jerks” or “I never met a woman I could trust”.

Worst, our anger or resentments might continuously become the cause of sabotaging loving relationships, estrangement from family, or trouble with the law. We may have become hostages to confusion or fears or low self-esteem. We know our life is not working, but we don’t know why.

Whether you’ve made a decision to become more enlightened or have experienced hurtful or harmful consequences of your behaviors, there is a solution.

CREATE A NEW MAP. Create it based on your own needs and experiences and dreams.You deserve to follow your personal guide that works best for you and, even though you don’t believe you have the capacity to do this because of unawareness or fear. You can do it.

I know you can, because I did it. Take out a sheet of paper or do it online – Start the map from where you are right now in your life. Then draw on it the kinds of experiences you want to have – you get to choose the way and the destination. Certainly thank your parents for their map which helped you survive in your family of origin, then take the controls of your airplane.
We are not victims. We are responsible for our happiness. And whether it’s an epiphany or a jail cell that causes you to be willing to change, you can decide at any moment to create, love and travel through the years with your personal journey mapped out by you.

Susan Levy is an anger management professional at Daybreak Counseling Service. Susan teaches Anger Management Classes at Daybreak -West, Santa Monica Office.

Daybreak Counseling Service
www.daybreakservices.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/angryinla
http://myspace.com/angermanagementeacher
310-995-1202

Daybreak Counseling Service
www.daybreakservices.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/angryinla
http://myspace.com/angermanagementeacher
310-995-1202

YOUNGSTOWN — An Ohio State Penitentiary corrections officer found guilty of disorderly conduct, reduced from assault, must attend anger management counseling.

Michael Robinson, 42, of Marion, decided to forgo a jury trial Monday in municipal court and entered a no contest plea to the disorderly charge. A municipal court jury previously found him guilty of resisting arrest.

Bret Hartup, assistant city prosecutor, called Robinson’s conduct “abhorrent” during the arrest and recommended 45 days electronically monitored house arrest on the resisting conviction. He said the victim in the assault case did not want to speak prior to sentencing.

Bo Pritchard, Robinson’s lawyer, asked for leniency, saying Robinson served 11 years in the Army and was selected Officer of the Year in 2006 at the prison. In 42 years, Robinson maintained a clean record, the lawyer said.

Pritchard said he’d like to see both convictions treated as one case for purposes of expungement.

The assault and resisting arrest happened at the supermax prison on Coitsville-Hubbard Road. The assault involved the grabbing of another corrections officer in September 2006; the arrest related to that charge took place in April 2007. The charges against Robinson, hired at the prison in August 1999, were investigated by troopers from the Ohio State Patrol post in Southington.

Robinson told Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly that he takes pride in what he does, adding that’s why he was voted officer of the year. He said he put himself in a predicament.

“You’re going to have days when people push you to the limit,” Judge Kobly told Robinson. Of resisting arrest, she said, “To say you reacted badly is an understatement.”

The judge said there are days when people in court push her to the limit but she is expected to act in an appropriate manner.

Robinson must attend anger management counseling and serve nine months monitored time, previously called non reporting probation. The judge also imposed fines and jury fees of $1,895.

Robinson’s actions were investigated internally in 2006 and he received no discipline, a prison spokesman said after the arrest. Had he received jail time, the warden would have considered how to approve the time off.

After court Monday, Robinson had no comment.

Pritchard said the original incident was overblown and termed what happened as horseplay. He said there was no intent by his client to physically harm anyone.

Daybreak Counseling Service
www.daybreakservices.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/angryinla
http://myspace.com/angermanagementeacher
310-995-1202