This Might Change Your Perspective on 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.
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,” explained social
psychologists Charles Carver of the University of Miami.
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. According
to mental health experts, 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. In the last two decades, there
has been an increase in the number of studies exploring the relationship
between perfectionism and anger.
One such study found that 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.
6. Aggression is hereditary
As we established, feeling angry is normal
and healthy. 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. 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.