You have four locks on the door. Metal detectors are everywhere. You try to comprehend the headlines: our of nowhere, someone goes on a shooting rampage. In another part of the country, a mother has calmly drowned her children. What are we to make of these real-life events? Why have we come to this. Can we stand the pressure? Dr. Flannery, a clinical psychologist and counselor in the field of stress management (and its most serious manifestation, post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD) has studied violence in depth—its causes in criminals and effects on victims—and offers reasons, as well as inspiring solutions, in this timely book. In explaining why violent people behave the way they do, Flannery examines the outer as well as inner causes. Are some people biologically more prone to perpetrate violent behavior? If violent crime is supposed to be dropping, why don't we feel very safe? Once the causes and effects are understood, part 2 of this book presents practical coping strategies and proven programs from the author's twenty-five years of professional counseling and national speaking. He shows us how to gain emotional control and get involved.