Swami Sivananda talks about on how to stop overreacting in everything including at work and relationship. This is a good guide to those who overreact even in small stuff.
Most of the difficulties in our daily lives come from being unable to hold our minds in proper check. For instance, if a man does evil to us, instantly we want to react evil, to revenge, to pay him in the same coin, to extract tooth for tooth, tit for tat policy – to return anger for anger. Every reaction of evil shows that we are not able to hold the Chitta down (control the mind). It comes out in waves towards the object and we lose our power.
Most of the difficulties in our daily lives come from being unable to hold our minds in proper check. For instance, if a man does evil to us, instantly we want to react evil, to revenge, to pay him in the same coin, to extract tooth for tooth, tit for tat policy – to return anger for anger. Every reaction of evil shows that we are not able to hold the Chitta down (control the mind). It comes out in waves towards the object and we lose our power.
Only a word is uttered and we do not wait to consider its meaning, but jump to a conclusion immediately. It is a sign of weakness. The weaker the man is, the less he has the power of restraint. Measure yourself always with the standard of restraint.
When you are going to be angry or miserable on hearing some news, reason it out, for yourself and see how it has thrown your mind into such a situation. Restraint does not come in a day, but by long continued practice. Suppose, when you are passing through the bazaar, a man comes and takes away forcibly your nice walking stick. That throws your Chitta immediately into the form of a wave, termed anger. Do not allow that wave to develop. If you can prevent the formation of that wave, you have strong will power, renunciation and Vairagya.
Every reaction in the form of hatred or evil is so much loss to the mind and every evil thought or deed of hatred, if it is controlled, will be laid in our favor. It is not that we lose by thus restraining ourselves but we gain infinitely. Each time we suppress hatred, or feelings of anger, it is so much good energy stored up in our favor and that energy will be converted into higher power. Anger, when controlled properly, becomes transmuted into an energy so powerful as to move the world.