UNDERSTANDING ALL ABOUT ANGER

 

 

Anger is a frequently misunderstood emotion. It’s common to believe that anger is destructive, or that it's the result of a bad attitude, but the truth is more complicated than that. Not only is anger human, but it is also a necessary function. When managed properly, it can even yield some positive outcomes. Accepting that anger is a part of life and knowing its true nature is key to utilizing this inevitable emotion effectively.

"Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." This saying is wrongly attributed to Buddha, but I could find no evidence of the same. Our culture views anger this way, too. The Internet is littered with self-help communities preaching to let go of anger, sharing quotable advice like, "If another can easily anger you, it means you are off-balance within yourself." Or, "Anger doesn’t solve anything. It builds nothing, but can destroy everything." Even, "Anger is your biggest enemy. Control it." On the flip side, we praise those who don’t show their anger as "well-bred," "intelligent," and "sophisticated." We’ve upheld whole groups of people who tend not to show anger as model citizens.

 

The Biology of Anger

Anger is a threat-activated neurophysiological arousal response, which means it’s created when a threat triggers the brain to send out a rallying cry to the body, putting the troops on high alert. The amygdala starts the call to battle. Then a cascade of brain and body events leads to adrenaline and cortisol pumping through the bloodstream, an increased heart rate, tensed muscles, heightened and narrowed attention, and a facial expression that flashes like a warning sign.

Anger is not a behavior, it’s an emotion. It is not the same as hostility, violence, or aggression. Those words describe what people do; anger describes how people feel. The difference between anger and aggression is crucial. Anger is an evolutionarily hardwired, physiological, and automatic cascade in the body. Aggression is an action exercised by a person’s free will. When we recognize that, we can respect the emotion of anger even as we condemn the behavior of violence. The following facts about anger might change your views on this misunderstood emotion.

 

1. Anger is not inherently bad

One of the most common misconceptions about anger is that feeling anger is bad. The facts are quite different, as anger is an important emotion that is there to alert us that something is wrong. Adults and children experience anger differently. Children mostly feel anger as frustration. For example, they will become angry when they can’t have something they want when they want it. Adults, on the other hand, get angry when they feel out of control. 

Anger in itself isn’t a bad or even dangerous emotion, as long as you address it and understand the underlying issues that it’s trying to point out. At the end of the day, anger can motivate us to respond to confrontation, unfairness, and other problems. Figuring out why we feel angry is the first step to reaping the benefits from this emotion. 

 

2. Anger can stimulate motivation

Since we’re on the topic of benefits, one of the greatest upsides of anger is that it's a motivating force. Usually, expressing anger is linked to aggression. However, anger can be expressed in an infinite number of ways. While aggression is one of them, so are assertiveness and problem-solving. According to Psychology Today, brain scans show anger significantly activates the left anterior cortex, which is associated with positive approach behaviors. Moreover, studies have shown pre-dominant left-brain activation when angry subjects perceive that they can make things better. Expecting to be able to act to resolve the angering event should yield greater approach motivational intensity.

 

3. Anger has a strong physical component

Anger is an emotion that manifests itself through strong physical sensations: tensed muscles, clenched teeth, rapid heartbeat, and sweaty palms. Anger triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response - just as fear, excitement, and anxiety do. The adrenal glands flood the body with stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. The brain then shunts blood towards the muscles in preparation for physical exertion.  These physical reactions can make us feel as though anger is controlling us, but trying to resist them will only make matters worse. The best course of action is to fully allow yourself to feel what is present. Leaning into those sensations and expressing your anger rather than trying to conceal it will calm your nervous system quicker. 

 

4. Uncontrolled anger and outbursts can harm your heart health

While constructively expressing your anger is physically beneficial, lashing out isn’t. Issues with controlling anger and angry outbursts can have harmful and even dangerous consequences. Anger is most physically damaging to your cardiac health. A study published in the European Heart Journal found that the risk of a heart attack is doubled in the two hours following an angry outburst, and so is the risk of having a stroke. Another study found that people prone to anger as a personality trait had twice the risk of coronary disease than their less angry peers.  The good news is that you can learn to control those angry explosions. Deep breaths and assertive communication skills are two helpful tools when you feel you’re about to lose your temper. You may even need to change your environment by getting up and walking away.

 

5. Perfectionism often leads to anger

Striving to always do your best is one thing, but believing you need to be perfect is a different thing altogether. Some aspects of perfectionism help us move towards success, but this quality has a dark side, too. There is a close relationship between perfectionism and anger.  Perfection is the greatest enemy of good and self-directed perfectionism is associated with anger and frustration with oneself, while socially prescribed perfectionism is related to anger directed towards others. Learning to replace self-criticism with compassion and allowing imperfection is a long process, but it's definitely worth the time and effort.   Performance can only suffer with anger, even in a perfectionist.

 

6. Aggression is hereditary

Feeling angry is normal and healthy bur expressing it through aggression, however, is not. If violence only brings negative results, why is it the default reaction to anger? Modern society inherited this tendency from its ancestral past. Aggression helped out forebears survive and reproduce. Until about 12,000 years ago, all humans lived as hunter-gatherers.  Research conducted by anthropologists who lived with hunter-gatherer tribes found that hunter-gatherer men who committed acts of homicide had more children, as they were more likely to survive. More recently, scientists were able to find a link between aggression and a specific gene - monoamine oxidase A or MAOA - proving beyond a doubt that aggression is hereditary.  

 

7. Anger and fear often go hand in hand

Anger and fear often go hand in hand. In fact, anger is often a secondary emotion that only arises when a person continues to feel unsafe. So when researchers measure whether someone is habitually angry, they also tap into whether they might be habitually afraid, vulnerable, sad, or anxious. When scientists look at the biological consequences of anger versus other emotions side-by-side, it becomes clear that anxiety and sadness are what causes the problem, not anger.

 

8. The best way to defuse anger

Humor and laughter have been proven time and again to be powerful tools to lower stress levels and dissolve anger. Almost by definition, humor represents a different way of perceiving things. A joke or a shared laugh can lighten anger’s heavy load because you suddenly see the problem from a completely different perspective. The moment when our fundamental perception of something changes is called cognitive shifting. It can make a frustrating situation seem silly and less significant. An important caveat, though, is that humor is effective at diffusing anger when it's directed at a situation and not a person. 

Emotions are big exclamation points that our brains hold up to get our attention when something important is happening, or when a problem needs to be solved. Fear warns us about danger, grief tells us to seek support, and joy tells us that we should continue doing whatever it is that makes us feel good. Anger is the same. It tells us that injustice is being enacted, or that we need to take action to ensure the survival of our body and our integrity.

People can steal, assault, cheat, bully, and oppress without even a bit of anger. But without anger, the victims would shrug and continue to endure injustice. So anger is not always bad. There are times, when you feel anger, that’s okay. It’s your brain’s way of keeping you safe. You can, and should, investigate whatever triggered your anger and use your wise mind to evaluate the facts and decide on the best actions. But whatever those turn out to be, the initial spark of anger should always be allowed.