Anger is an instinct inherited from our primal ancestors through evolution. Anger can be triggered when any creature is threatened, challenged, or denied something they want or need. Anger involves a strong response to a provocation. Facing a challenge, our response may be anger or fear, and it may be difficult to decide whether to face the challenge head-on or walk (run!) away. These are the choices in a fight-or-flight response. Yet there is a sharp distinction between anger and aggression (physical or verbal, direct or indirect). Both influence each other — anger can ramp up to aggression when it increases in intensity. This article will examine anger-induced bodily changes, types of anger, and some suggestions for keeping anger under control.
Hormones and Body Changes Once ignited, anger releases a cascade of physical, psychological, and neurological effects. Anger changes the human body by making the heart beat faster and increasing blood pressure and the levels of the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline. These chemicals prime the body for action. Adrenaline reacts quickly to a challenge, increasing the supply of oxygen and glucose to the brain and muscles. These hormones gear up the body for action while slowing down less crucial bodily functions, such as digestion.
The Myriad Types of Anger
When it kicks in, anger becomes the body’s central focus — behaviorally, cognitively, and physically. Without a physiological slowdown, the individual will not only lose their temper, they will also bypass the internal checkpoints needed to regain control. One way to address these issues is to take a closer look at some types of anger.
. Passive Anger — watch out for the cold shoulder or the silent treatment. It may manifest as turning one’s back in a crisis, psychological manipulation, or obsessive behavior. Someone who is overly accident-prone, underachieves despite great potential, expresses major frustration over minor setbacks but ignores major ones, may be demonstrating passive anger.
. Aggressive Anger — characterized by unpredictability, such as explosive anger over minor frustrations, destructive behavior, risk-taking, showing off, and nasty bullying behavior. Selfishness, grandiosity, threats, and unjust blaming are other common displays of aggressive anger.
. Assertive Anger — used in a disciplinary context and may be appropriate under certain circumstances. Blame and punishment are common signs. Assertive anger maintains a balanced approach so that disapproval and punishment remain moderate.
Overall, the expression of anger becomes unhealthy if it exceeds mere expression and inflicts serious suffering on oneself or others. The victims of anger, whether adults or children, may also suffer from elevated stress, health problems, and increased tension.
Avoiding the Warpath Stopping anger escalation is the first step. One can learn tools and techniques to manage anger constructively — if not by yourself, then with the guidance of a skilled therapist. It is helpful to identify anger trigger points and learn to manage them. How? When you are emotionally calm, take an in-depth anger inventory and write down your findings from the past month. Include the following: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? Use your phone, an index card, or a daily diary to keep your trigger list handy. It should go with you everywhere. You must keep using it for it to become effective. It is an evolving document to record all future angry outbursts and will ultimately enable you to dissect them. Remember the all-important pause: if you can keep your anger in check for a minute or two, the episode may pass.
There are no shortcuts at this stage, so dig deep. What sets you off? Is there a particular circumstance that ticks you off? Is there a person, place, or thing that always grinds on your nerves? Look back at your last few outbursts and see if you can detect a pattern. Some triggers may be obvious, some not. Keep on digging and listing. Keep tabs on your physical signs, too — a dry mouth, for instance, may be your first tip-off to a potential outburst. Monitor yourself like an internal anger referee and learn to identify your triggers in their early stages.
Identify your physical danger signs and your triggers, pause, try to relax, and you can now intervene. Take a few more moments for yourself to regain control. Memorize some phrases to stall the other side — examples such as “Give me a minute to understand what you are saying…” or “Did you mean to say such and such…?” Now’s the time to zero in on your physical reactions to a pending outburst, too. Check yourself for a telltale sweaty brow, hot flash, shallow breathing, and other reactions. Try to counter these reactions by doing the opposite: cold water on overheated body parts, slower breathing, and a calming mental picture can all be useful tools.
Bottom line: you can walk away, say you need some air… or some space. Walk away and smile if you can, it leaves the other side wondering what you are up to!
Jennifer Vear Hoy
Jennifer Vear Hoy is a psychotherapist and the owner of Peaceful Summit Counseling. She holds a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling and a Master of Science in Management and Organizational Behavior. She holds a deep belief in ongoing education as well as community involvement.
Jennifer spent over 20 years in business as a corporate strategist, operating her own consulting firm in Chicago. Following the death of her husband in 2006, she realized firsthand the need for professional, caring counseling. She returned to school and earned her second master’s degree as a clinical mental health counselor.
“It is my passion to help others live the life they were meant to live.” -Jennifer Vear Hoy
1048 Goodlette Road, North, Suite 201,
Naples, Florida 34102
239-307-4708
PeacefulSummitNaples.com
Specializing in grief/loss, assertiveness training, anxiety, anger management, addiction, depression, relationship counseling, and eating disorders.