Anger is an elementary emotion, characterized by an uncomfortable and non-cooperative response toward someone or something you perceive as provocative, threatening, or hurtful. As an emotion, anger can vary in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury or rage.
Culture and societal norms are essential in dictating how anger as an emotion is perceived. In some cultures, open expression of anger is not welcomed and is deemed as a sign of weakness or lack of self-control. In others, expressing anger is more acceptable and even encouraged as a means of resolving conflicts. These norms can shape your perspective toward anger and how you express it.
Moreover, societal factors such as economic disparities, political unrest, and social injustice can contribute to collective anger on a larger scale. Movements driven by collective anger have historically sparked social change.
This highlights that anger, as any other emotion can be both, a good thing and a bad thing. It can be a means of resolving conflicts or the motivation needed to drive change but it can be destructive as well. It can turn into aggressive behavior and have physical, mental, and social consequences.
Positives of Anger-
- It is essential for your survival-
From an evolutionary perspective, it plays an important role in ensuring the survival of our species. Being part of your ‘fight or flight’ response, anger can be viewed as an alarm mechanism, that alerts you when something or someone intends harm towards you. It does so by activating our amygdala which then triggers our hypothalamus. The hypothalamus directs the pituitary glands to signal the adrenal glands to release stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisol, etc.).
Anger
Activates amygdala
Hypothalamus
Pituitary glands
Adrenal glands
Releases stress hormones
(adrenaline and cortisol)
- It can motivate you-
Anger can also provide you with the energy necessary to take action toward achieving certain goals. When you are angry you feel more optimistic about your ability to change a particular situation, thus, empowering you to take action and move from an undesirable position to a desirable one.
- It promotes effective communication-
Anger can also pave the way to healthy and effective communication in relationships when it is expressed constructively. When expressed constructively and assertively, anger can help identify its roots. It leads to appropriate problem-solving, fewer misunderstandings and conflicts, and healthier relationships. - It can lead to self-improvement-
Upon taking a closer look, you’ll find that anger serves as an internal guidance system and warns us that something is wrong. It can be something internal (perspective, expectations, prejudices, etc.) or external (injustice, discrimination, provocation, etc.). A willingness to look at the source of your anger can be beneficial. It can provide insight into your faults and shortcomings, and lead to character development. - It can help you set boundaries-
Noticing when you’re angry and identifying your triggers is also useful in helping you understand your limits. It can help you set boundaries so you can avoid getting angry.
Yet anger is a powerful emotion that requires skill to manage. If left unchecked, anger can lead to aggressive behaviors like violence, verbal abuse, throwing things, shouting, etc. Children learn to control and express their anger by observing people around them. Parents guide them toward healthy ways of expressing their anger. Negligence and lack of proper guidance can lead the child to express anger aggressively and think it is the right way.
Negatives of Anger-
- It clouds your judgment-
Anger can make you feel more in control of the situation, which is especially appealing when you are in a stressful or uncertain situation, but it can also make you lose sight of the bigger picture. When angry, you may not consider the contextual information necessary to make decisions and end up making poor decisions with negative consequences.
- Reasoning becomes harder-
It becomes harder to think rationally when we are angry. This can be because all our perceptions, reasoning, and arguments are led by emotion and logic or rationality. - Chronic anger can impact your heart health-
Research and various studies have found that chronic anger has a significant impact on your heart health. Anger can strain your heart and blood vessels in a similar way to other forms of chronic stress. It heightens your risk for hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. - Chronic anger can lead to mental health problems-
Chronic anger also leads to maladaptive coping strategies. It is found to be a significant factor in the development of various substance abuse disorders, personality disorders, and other mood disorders. Hence, chronic anger increases your risk of developing mental health disorders.
But what is anger caused by? Many factors can be the underlying cause of anger. Some of them are-
- Sense of powerlessness
- Fear
- Trauma
- Bullying/ Abuse
- Childhood emotional invalidation/ neglect
- Discrimination
- Adversities
- Low self-esteem
- Physical illness/ Disability
Anger is a powerful emotion that requires skills to manage. On one end, unchecked externalized anger can turn into violence and aggression, and on the other hand, repressed, internalized anger can cause mental health problems like anxiety, depression, or other mood disorders and health problems like high blood pressure and other heart problems.
How to Manage Anger-
The goal of anger management is to understand, cope with, and healthily express your anger. You can’t suppress or avoid your anger. It will surface in one way or another. Therefore, instead of wasting energy trying to push it down, you can understand the root of your anger and express it healthily.
- Know your triggers
- Exercise
- Be willing to forgive
- Be assertive during communication
- Use humor
- Do self-care
- Engage in problem-solving
- Change your environment
- Change your perspective of the situation
- Talk through your feelings
- Seek help/ therapy