Advising: I think you should leave the room the second he raises his voice.

One-upping: You think that’s bad? Let me tell you about the rages my husband gets into.

Educating: I can recommend a really good book that describes what happens in the brain when you’ve been traumatized as a child.

Analyzing: It sounds like you have internalized your father’s rages so that your husband’s raised voice triggers that old fear.

Storytelling: Did I ever tell you what I did on my honeymoon when my husband yelled at me?

Minimizing: Well, at least he doesn’t hit you the way your father did.

Sympathizing: I feel frightened when I hear how angry he gets.

Interrogating: How often does he go into one of these rages?

Reassuring: I’m confident that you’ll find a way to resolve this together; the two of you have been through a lot.

Avoiding: Let’s talk about something else, OK? This topic is quite upsetting.

Diagnosing: It sounds like you have some typical codependent personality traits. OR It sounds like he has dysfunctional anger syndrome.

Judging: It sounds like you’ve made a poor choice in a spouse.