Our television screens are filled with irate, primal screaming town hall meetings, talk show guests vehemently disagreeing by throwing chairs and 24 hour news is habitually punctuated with the latest headline of a spouse who “had enough” and mowed down a spouse with a Glock handgun.

If you missed it, there are now two psychological profiles in the DSM-IVTR (the recognized source for diagnosing mental disorders) for “losing it.” The two are the Intermittent Explosive Disorder and the new malady on the block, Temper Dysregulation Disorder.

The really scary news is studies at Harvard University and the University of Chicago suggest one in every 20 Americans is afflicted by one or both of these anger disorders.

Well, this article is not a series of skills on how to deal with these clinically diagnosed anger addicts; rather, it is about the other 19 of us who do get angry and need some help, especially at work, to manage our feelings of resentment and rage.

Finding the truth about losing it is: all of us are capable of being inappropriate and out of control depending on the ignition source of our anger.

I am suggesting 7 interventions to pull back on the reins of anger when it starts galloping out of control.

First, just like an AA meeting, we have to admit we have a problem. Please note it is the “cool and calm” employee who brings in a golf bag filled with automatic weapons and then “takes out” a supervisor or coworkers because they made fun of his lunch. If we have a problem remaining rational in a state of anger, we have to look in a mirror and have an honest conversation with the person we know best.

Second, reframe the conflict as a momentary irritant which is just episodic. Remember words like “always,” “never” and “continually” are often gross generalizations that spin a brain into a malevolent maelstrom of mayhem. In other words, get in control of your self-talk.

Third, write down every time you get significantly angry and describe the “triggers.” If you can plot the “bait” (on a chart in four colors for those of you who are perfectionists) for your anger, you can also emotionally desensitize yourself the next time the “come on” for losing it strings in front of you.

Fourth, put yourself in a “time out” (I am a grandfather who is an expert at this disciplinary device). When you feel like you will say or do something inappropriate, commit to at least 15 minutes of moving to another project. After you get absorbed in another activity, your mind and emotions will have space to get plugged back into rationality.

Fifth, check with your doctor to see if ailments like diabetes, chronic pain, low testosterone and low estrogen can create a physical cauldron for out-of-control irritability and expressions of anger. Talk with your medical professionals about your anger and inquire if there are any physiological causes.

Sixth, empathize. Whoa! You are asking right now, “With Whom?” The answer is, “…with the person who has pushed your hot buttons.”

Give me a few more lines to explain. If you can get into the shoes and cranium of the person who has just, intentionally, irritated you, you may decide this is not worth your time or emotional energy. The more you know about your enemy the smarter you will be defeating his devices. In other words, don’t get angry, get smart.

Finally, pretend today is your last day on God’s green earth. This is not a manipulative or macabre suggestion. Answer this question, “Would you have time or the energy to be this angry if you knew you only had hours to live?”

People, who I cared deeply about, in their final hours, did not have an agenda that included ranting and raving about how they were wronged in life.

Anger is a legitimate emotion which screams we are about to be physically or emotionally run over. This intense feeling is intended to protect us. When we cannot control anger, we give up our protection and hand the keys to our future over to raging out-of-control words and deeds.