By Suleiman Tajudeen
CITIZENS COMPASS–Anger is an emotion that an individual experiences from time to time, it can also be a response to a negative experience by an individual.
Anger can be good some of the time as it motivates one to find solutions to one’s problems. However, excessive anger can cause serious problems and danger both to the individual nursing it and the society at large.
Psychologically, anger is linked to the sympathetic nervous system’s “fright, flight, or fright“ responses, which prepare humans for battle. It is essentially an effective response to stressful life conditions and events. Anger can be better explained biologically, psychologically, and socially with major links to survival and the preservation mechanism of life.
Generally, an individual experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, such as an increase in heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and other psychological problems, as when an individual becomes angry, he or she predominantly experiences feeling behaviourally, cognitively, and psychologically as a response to his or her anger situation.
Anger situation is seen by many people as a negative emotion but research findings and clinical experiences have shown that anger has its positive side as one’s anger might be a motivating force in the form of positive energy geared towards fighting against drug abuse, domestic violence, or other social issues.
Benefits of anger
When anger is expressed in appropriate manners, it provides the following benefits.
It tends to promote survival if the emotion is moderately expressed.
Anger discharged is calming: anger helps individuals to cope with a particular stress by first discharging the tension in one’s body.
It promotes a sense of control (i.e.) it helps us to feel in charge rather than helpless.
It energises us to defend ourselves against any fear of oppression.
It motivates us to solve problems; anger motivates us to find solutions to our numerous problems.
It makes us aware of injustice vented unto us like insults, disrespect, and embarrassment to mention others.
It helps us to be focused on what we intend to achieve in life.
Anger gingers us to pursue our desired goals and objectives in life.
It can make an individual a better person, as it can stand as a propelling force of being in charge of your life.
Signs and Symptoms
Physical symptoms: Anger tends to affect different parts of our body:
Increased blood pressure
Increased heart rate,
Tingling sensation and muscle tension
Blood pressure rises
Facial look changes (i.e frowning by the individual concerned or aggressive look).
Sweating profusely
Feeling hot or restless
Frequently visiting the toilet to urinate or wanting to defecate.
Temper tantrum
Sudden increase in breathing rate of the individual concerned.
Tightness in one’s chest
An uncomfortable feeling in one’s stomach.
Emotions: An angry individual might experience the following emotional symptoms like:
Irritability
Frustration
Anxiety,
Stress
Feeling overwhelmed,
Guilt,
Tensed, nervous, or unable to relax,
Overwhelmed with anger situation,
The individual almost always finds it difficult to control his/her anger,
The feeling of humiliation.
Types of anger
Outward anger: This involves expressing one’s anger in an aggressive manner like shouting, cursing, throwing or breaking things, or being verbally or physically abusive towards others.
Inward anger: The person concerned directs the anger towards the self. The individual might deny himself or herself from the things that make him or her happy like food or other essential things in his or her life. The person might also result in self-harm or isolate oneself from family members or the society at large.
Passive anger: It is a gentle and indirect way of expressing one’s anger. Passive-aggressive behaviour is a pattern of behaviour, which is exhibited when you express negative feelings indirectly instead of openly talking about anger issues.
When to be worried about your anger:
You feel angry often
You feel that your anger seems out of control
Your anger is affecting your relationship with your spouse or other members of the family
Your anger is affecting others in the society.
It causes you to say or do things you later regret.
You become verbally or physically aggressive at slight provocation.
Wanting things to be done in your own way always.
Not wanting to be corrected for behaviour that is against societal norms and regulations.
Not having a forgiving spirit, wanting to exact vengeance at any slight provocation.
Consistently having the same arguments with friends, relatives, or colleagues.
Generally, anger is a known symptom of several mental health conditions like depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance use disorder, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, oppositional deficit disorder, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder, etc.
Major causes of anger
To be continued…
Dr Suleiman Tajudeen is a Clinical Psychology Doctor in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
