As mentioned before, I am writing a series on the physical reactions and correlations among the 8 basic emotions we, as humans, can feel on a daily basis. Those 8 emotions are fear, anger, sadness, joy, disgust, trust, anticipation, and surprise, of which were presented by Robert Plutchik.
If you couldn't tell, this article focuses primarily on how anger can affect one physically, and how and why our body uses physical expressions to release anger.
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Anger
Anger is a strong emotion that sends a clear message that "something must change." It is a dire plea for justice and action.
As we all know, there are many different levels of anger one may feel. From the most mild to the most intense, these are some words to express our anger: annoyance, irritation, aggravation, agitation, frustration, peeved, annoyed, miffed, sulking, offended, bitter, indignation, exasperation, incensed, pissed, outrage, hostile, spite, vengefulness, resentment, wrath, rage, fury, ferocity, and livid. Bitterness comes when there is a large amount of unresolved anger. Hate, then, usually follows as it is the form of anger when someone is to blame the other for their own personal difficulties.
Just as there are many different words to describe how angry we may be, there are also plenty of forms of this strong emotion:
Indignation: Self-rightous anger.
Sulking: Passive anger.
Exasperation: Anger at having your patience constantly tried.
Revenge: A deliberate response to an offense, delayed until after a period of reflection.
Because anger is such a strong emotion, it evokes a physiological response. Usually when someone becomes angry, their arousal is so strong that it often leads to ugly, destructive, and possibly violent expressions. A wide variety of perceived losses can trigger anger, such as:
Having your possessions tampered with.
Losing your stature or ego (leading to feeling humiliated).
The idea of someone trespassing, which is thus taken as a feeling of loss by the person who was trespassed against.
You may be wondering, well, don't you also feel sad when you lose something? The answer is yes! But the difference here between anger and sadness is the role of a "willful agent." An agent is someone who acted deliberately. For example, if you lose your pet because it dies of natural causes, you are sad, but not angry. If your pet is killed by an evil or careless person, you are angry with that person. You are angry because you believe that person acted to deliberately cause you harm. Now it has become a deliberate act and a personal attack. Often the willful agent is yourself. Going of the previous example, you may blame yourself for the loss of your pet if you believe you didn't take sufficient care of the pet, or if you believe you could've done more to protect the pet and prevented the loss.
Although the obvious reaction once someone begins to feel angry is to lash out and become violent, this is the most unhealthy way to respond to anger, contrary to popular beliefs. In fact, the most effective way to combat and serve our anger in a positive way is by using self-control in order to overcome the impulse to do harm. Instead of giving in and becoming violent, we ought to calm down, reflect, and analyze the causes of our anger. This careful analysis of why we are angry can help lead to a more constructive path full of necessary changes that will have a more optimistic impact on our lives.
The absolute most destructive way of coping with anger is by becoming violent. Although some may try to persuade you into thinking this is a healthy way of releasing anger, it is the worst possible way of doing so. Another common misconception of how to deal with anger is through revenge, which can help lead to a "positive" change. This is incredibly false, for revenge more often times than not slopes into a continuos cycle of destruction. Expressing violence only breeds more anger. One should stay in control, analyze the message the anger is sending, and harness the energy it provides for positive change instead.
Although anger may seem like it only does harm, think again! There are many benefits to feeling angry, as long as it is done properly and harmlessly. Benefits of anger include:
Knowing something needs to change.
Having motivation to constructively change whatever it was that caused the anger. It can energize the fight for legitimate rights.
Having the urge to act on our sense of justice.
Helping reduce or overcome fear and provide the energy needed to mobilize change.
Helping us preserve our ego and think better of ourselves.
Yes, there are benefits to expressing anger. After all: it is a natural and normal emotion to feel! But don't let that fool you into thinking it's okay for you to lash out or become violent whenever you feel angry. Anger is appropriate when it is effectively expressed because if it is improperly expressed--as it so often is--it only increases the anger of others. This can lead to a serious and dangerous escalation.
So next time you're feeling angry, try to control it and understand exactly what it is that made you angry and why. Inducing self-control methods will encourage more positive energy associated with anger, rather than negative, destructive energy.
If you're curious about sadness and all of its galore, look no further! Next week's article talks about just that, so stay tuned.
