Anger Danger

Just like every other emotions we express, anger is man’s natural response to a circumstance he finds himself. It is an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage. Anger like other emotion too is accompanied by physiological and biological changes; when you get angry, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones, adrenaline, and noradrenaline.

Anger can be caused by both external and internal events. You could be angry at a specific person (Such as a co-worker or supervisor) or event (a traffic jam, a cancelled flight), or your anger could be caused by worrying or brooding about your personal problems. 

Other emotions behind anger include fear, sadness, worry, embarrassment, jealousy, anxiety, shame and disappointment.
Memories of traumatic or enraging events can also trigger angry feelings and outburst; anger is instinctively expressed aggressively.

Dealing With Anger in a Way That Does not Hurt Others

1)     Express Yourself: A certain amount of anger is needed for survival as it inspires powerful feeling that enable us to fight and to defend ourselves when we are attacked. Expressing anger should be in an assertive way and not aggressive way. Being assertive is healthy; expressing yourself in an assertive manner means making clear your pain or anger, getting people to know how you feel without hurting them. Being assertive doesn't mean being pushy or demanding; it means being respectful of yourself and others.

2)   Anger can be suppressed, and then converted or redirected. This happens when you hold in your anger, stop thinking about it, and focus on something positive. The aim is to inhibit or suppress your anger and convert it into more constructive behaviour. The danger in this type of response is that if it isn't allowed outward expression, your anger can turn inward—on yourself; this can lead to high blood pressure (plus other heart diseases) and depression.

3)   Calming Down. This simple means taken steps to control your outward behaviour and your internal response. Calm yourself down like breathing, leaving the scene until the feeling of anger subsides.

4)   Try Humour: Humour can always be relied upon to diffuse a tense situation. Listening to jokes can help get your mind off things.

5)    Timing: If you and your spouse tend to fight when you discuss things at night—perhaps you're tired, or distracted, or maybe it's just habit—try changing the times when you talk about important matters so these talks don't turn into arguments.

6)   Avoidance: If your child's chaotic room makes you furious every time you walk by it, shut the door. Don't make yourself look at what infuriates you. Don't say, "well, my child should clean up the room so I won't have to be angry!" That's not the point. The point is to keep yourself calm.

7)    Finding alternatives: If your daily commute through traffic leaves you in a state of rage and frustration, give yourself a project—learn or map out a different route, one that's less congested or more scenic. Or find another alternative, such as a bus or commuter train.

It is important to note that unexpressed anger can lead to one having a passive-aggressive behaviour. We have people who indirectly get back at people who hurt them, there are also people who are perpetually cynical and hostile (people who constantly putting others down no matter their achievements, criticising everything and make cynical comments). These people do not always have successful relationships

There are people who have died because of uncontrolled anger; they pushed themselves to the limit. There are others who were not able to control themselves and allowed their anger get the better of them. We should know that we should not physically lash out at every person or object which will no doubt irritate us. Common sense, cultural and social norms and the law limits us on how far we can allow our anger dictate to us.