KEY POINTS:
From the woman pushing her shopping trolley into the back of your ankles at the supermarket to the footpath hog who refuses to let you pass, there's a seemingly endless list of annoying behaviour unleashing the rage within.
Road rage, carpark rage, shopping rage, surf rage, queue rage, air rage and workplace rage are just some of the symptoms of an increasingly rushed lifestyle - especially at this time of year.
Even mundane things like hedges and the amount of water others use are boiling our blood, with unusual terms like hedge rage, water rage, footpath rage and bowser rage slowly creeping into our vocabulary.
According to experts, we're raging more than ever, prompting warnings that getting yourself into an almighty flap can end in injury, a jail-term and even death.
"On average we come into contact with about 30 triggers a day that could elicit a potentially angry reaction," says psychologist and Queensland University of Technology researcher Dr Cameron Newton.
"They might be as simple as your computer not working, a red light when you're in a rush or too many phone calls.
"They're things that we'll forget by the end of the day ... but if they are potential triggers for us, they offer opportunities to have reactions that are essentially representative of frustrations, which can then be built to anger very quickly.
"If you respond to all of them you're not going to be a very happy person, and it's very possibly going to shorten your life in some way."
Australia was shocked when grandfather Ken Proctor died after he was allegedly attacked by a stranger who accused the 66-year-old of violating water restrictions as he watered his lawn in October.
The incident sparked the term water rage.
A month later queue rage took hold at Brisbane Airport when Qantas staff were booed by frustrated passengers after leaving their check-in counters to assist an elderly woman who collapsed and died in the long queue.
The Australian Services Union said it was not unusual for check-in staff to be booed at or even spat on by customers suffering rage during busy periods.
A fuel price inquiry this year heard fuel retailers faced a growing threat of bowser rage from customers furious about the cost of petrol, while workers in Brisbane were warned about footpath rage amid predictions around 50,000 people would cram into the CBD in the next 20 years.
It's an issue Moyne Shire Council in Victoria's southwest is acutely aware of.
Last month it issued a media release urging motorised scooter riders to "ride safely and slowly" to "avoid footpath rage" after reports that elderly speed demons had been forcing shoppers to duck and weave.
Even supposedly relaxing pursuits such as fishing get people hot and bothered, with Queensland authorities urging boaties to be patient to avoid boat ramp rage during the busy summer holidays.
Recreational fishing lobby group Sunfish has also warned about crabbing rage after reports of people looting crab pots and stealing and sabotaging equipment as fishing area closures leave anglers competing for space.
If that isn't bizarre enough, a NSW-based group called Problem Hedges Australia wants local councils to have the power to order hedges be trimmed or removed to avoid what it calls hedge rage.
According to the group's website, disputes about overgrown hedges have led to two deaths in Britain.
And with Christmas on its way, expect to hear terms like shopping rage, carpark rage and queue rage much more often.
Dr Newton says such rage didn't exist 50 years ago. "I think we're in a faster-paced world," he says.
"We supposedly have the technology to be able to do things quickly, we have higher expectations, there's more population, there's more things going on that could be triggers for us.
"The general consensus is it is getting worse."
He says Type A personalities - those who are quick to respond to triggers and are aggressive and irrational - are most prone to rage.
"But the propensity in all of us exists to engage in very angry exchanges," Dr Newton says.
While we may face a myriad so-called rage triggers, Dr Newton says, we have a social responsibility to keep our cool.
"When people do things to annoy you, accept their apology if they apologise," he says.
"If you do something to annoy someone then apologise, smile warmly.
"If you're in a vehicle, apologise by maybe a wave out the window or mouthing 'sorry'.
"Quickly that defuses someone else's potential reaction.
"By us all engaging in more pro-social behaviours we can make inroads in hopefully reducing some of the horrendous rage examples that we've seen," he said.
Dr Newton believes a return to good old-fashioned manners could also help stem rage.
Gold Coast-based etiquette expert Patsy Rowe agrees.
"Manners are the oil that greases the wheel of society," she says.
Ms Rowe said those who did not care about others' feelings believed they could act in any way they chose. "You can see how that leads to road rage and people not being in control."
How to stay calm
* If you are driving or shopping at peak times, prepare yourself for delays.
* Identify your body's frustration cues - increased pulse, rapid breathing, clenched fist or teeth, sweating, tense muscles.
* Try to give someone who has provided you with a reason to react the benefit of the doubt, e.g, "maybe they've had a bad day".
* Count to 10 to distract yourself from the anger trigger.
* Breathe slowly and deeply to help counteract your body's physiological changes when you get angry.
* Tell yourself to settle down, not let the situation upset you or take control.
* Visualise yourself as a fish and rage triggers as hooks in a stream: if you bite the hooks you will lose every time.
* Envisage the hooks that push your buttons and visualise yourself swimming past them.
- AAP
