Anger is often described as a negative emotional state. Its often associated with violence and rash actions. Men and women are often forced to hide their anger, even when they have been slighted and have genuine cause for anger, the outward display of it will be met with quick chiding by anyone nearby. Parents never really teach their children to deal with their anger.
Noted Psychiatrist, Alex Lickerman identifies 4 reasons for anger -
Noted Psychiatrist, Alex Lickerman identifies 4 reasons for anger -
- To harm oneself.
- Achieve control.
- To feel powerful.
- To fight injustice.
Anger is often forced down and suppressed. Festering like a rot inside the individual. Without an opportunity for release, the pressure mounts turning a person into a ticking time bomb. It is bound to eventually cause a person lose his sanity when the mental dam a person uses to keep his anger in check finally crashes. Too often this has consequences sometimes even dangerous ones. A person who cannot deal with with the full range of his emotions will bound to eventually be consumed by them. It is simply not possible to be a stoic. Emotions are an intrinsic part of humanity.
So how to deal with anger? This fiery beast that hides in all people. That's a question people have tried to answer their entire lives. For most suppression is the only solution they know. Scientific research in the field has all to often found that suppression is a terrible strategy to deal with anger. Expressing anger is a better way of actually dealing with it.
One way of expressing anger is to channel it into a creative endeavor like artistic work or a passion project. Painting, writing, singing, even dancing can all be useful at releasing anger.
Sports is also a great way to safely expend anger in a physical activity. Even a simple act of hitting a punching bag can do wonders in letting go of pent up frustration.
Sometimes though counseling from a medical professional is needed when the amount of anger endanger the individual or those around him or her. This is true especially in cases where the anger stems from self hatred or depression.
A major source of anger is fear and the feeling of being unable to be in control of ones life. Sometimes this feeling is a result of real circumstances and at other times its just a mental illusion of temporary problems. To deal with such anger, one must identify the source of the anger and identify the thought process that leads to anger. Ways must be found to change the pattern, like maybe when one encounters a situation that triggers a fear response a person can start thinking of something pleasant to stop anger from emerging.
But when encountering anger caused by injustice actually attempting to right the injustice maybe the only way to resolve anger. This is the best use of anger is to right injustice whether for oneself or for others. One could join a political party or activist group or union and use the anger generated from injustice to improve society.
Overall, it is never a good idea to suppress anger. There are of course limits on how one can express his anger making to avoid self harm or the harming of others. But express it one must. The ability to harness and control ones anger is a vital trait to be a healthy functional human being in society. A lot of the problems we face today stem in part because a large number of people no longer have any idea on how to deal with their rage. They face injustice on a daily basis but they have no idea on how to express it safely. Instead of joining political parties they join criminal groups. Instead of hitting a punching bag they engage in violence on the streets. We simply cannot ignore anger, one of the vital emotions of what makes a human being.
One way of expressing anger is to channel it into a creative endeavor like artistic work or a passion project. Painting, writing, singing, even dancing can all be useful at releasing anger.
Sports is also a great way to safely expend anger in a physical activity. Even a simple act of hitting a punching bag can do wonders in letting go of pent up frustration.
Sometimes though counseling from a medical professional is needed when the amount of anger endanger the individual or those around him or her. This is true especially in cases where the anger stems from self hatred or depression.
A major source of anger is fear and the feeling of being unable to be in control of ones life. Sometimes this feeling is a result of real circumstances and at other times its just a mental illusion of temporary problems. To deal with such anger, one must identify the source of the anger and identify the thought process that leads to anger. Ways must be found to change the pattern, like maybe when one encounters a situation that triggers a fear response a person can start thinking of something pleasant to stop anger from emerging.
But when encountering anger caused by injustice actually attempting to right the injustice maybe the only way to resolve anger. This is the best use of anger is to right injustice whether for oneself or for others. One could join a political party or activist group or union and use the anger generated from injustice to improve society.
Overall, it is never a good idea to suppress anger. There are of course limits on how one can express his anger making to avoid self harm or the harming of others. But express it one must. The ability to harness and control ones anger is a vital trait to be a healthy functional human being in society. A lot of the problems we face today stem in part because a large number of people no longer have any idea on how to deal with their rage. They face injustice on a daily basis but they have no idea on how to express it safely. Instead of joining political parties they join criminal groups. Instead of hitting a punching bag they engage in violence on the streets. We simply cannot ignore anger, one of the vital emotions of what makes a human being.
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