The Anger We All Share

The Anger We All Share

Anger, it is an emotion that we are all familiar with and in a way, an important part of the average normally functioning human. Who hasn't encountered anger in a friend, family member, or even the random person you met on the street? In literature, it is absolutely necessary in order to generate a tale with the right tension and motive for character behavior. Authors use creative wording to fashion the various images necessary to convey this emotion: fiery, smoldering, explosive, seething, etc., they're all employed to describe anger. Anger seems to be something we can't avoid. Every time you're bitter, cynical, holding a grudge, sullen, or frustrated, it was either because of anger you're experiencing these emotions or will result in anger. So what is anger, and what causes it? Why does this emotion play such an important part in our lives, and in some cases, cause so much trouble?

Anger can be mild, as with annoyance at a younger sibling, or intense like the rage felt if you returned home to find it burglarized. Though in this society, we have generally been taught that anger is bad, this is actually a normal and healthy emotion (1). That is, if experienced in moderation; anything to excess tends to result in trouble. When anger gets out of control, it can become a serious problem, which could not only damage your relationships with other people but also leave you feeling helpless to an unpredictable emotion (1).

The Forebrain, namely the Cerebellum, is responsible for our emotions, anger being one of them (8). Like other strong emotions, it is accompanied by physiological and biological changes. These changes include, but aren't restricted to, the increase of heart rate and blood pressure, a...

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...er, theories about how and why aggression develops, and means of preventing or coping with anger

http://mentalhelp.net/psyhelp/chap7/

3)He@lth: Anger and Aggression, Consumer tips

http://www.athealth.com/Consumer/newsletter/FPN_4_22.html

4)Heart Information Network, Anger and its effect on the heart: a review of research studies

http://www.heartinfo.org/main.asp

5)Angermgnt.com: Building Better Human Relationships, Anger Toolkit

http://www.angermgmt.com/techniques.html

6)Counseling and Career Center, A Brigham Young University Website

http://www.byu.edu/ccc/counseling/anger.shtml

7)Mean Genes, Comparing aggression in humans and other primates

http://detnews.com/1997/accent/9707/09/07090017.htm

8)The Brain, Biology and Behavior, A number of definitions regarding the brain

http://onlinelearning.tc.cc.va.us/faculty/tcmuthj/notes3.htm