Anger: Types, Causes, Reason, and Myths

Anger is a normal emotion that is brought on by your body’s fight-or-flight response. Your mind generates both anger and worries when it recognizes a threat.

Fear results from your body’s flight response being triggered, whereas anger results from your body’s fight response being triggered by perceived danger.

Because of the perceived threat, anger is produced to get ready to fight. The issue is that your brain will react the same way in all situations, regardless of whether a threat is real or imagined.

Even though it’s fictional, a feeling like anger is a real, normal emotion. You’re right to feel angry. However, the causes of anger might not be real. Your anger could be illogical if you don’t know what your mind is thinking about a particular event or circumstance.

Everyone experiences anger in different ways and in different degrees. It is a component of our life. There are numerous causes for anger. The experience of any unfair punishment, such as unjust criticism, could set it off. It might also happen if you don’t get what you want.

Being angry is a natural human emotion. Therefore, it is vital to develop effective coping mechanisms rather than dwell in feelings of regret about anything you said or did.

Types of Anger

There are three kinds of anger: open aggressiveness, assertive anger, and passive aggression.

Your response to a scenario that sparked your anger is typically determined by the type of anger you feel. The best way to express anger, if you experience it, is through assertive anger. Let’s now examine the definitions of all these terms.

Open Aggression

It is a complete substitute for passive-aggressive behavior. It is a reference to the fact that people have a tendency to lash out in these situations of anger and may be physically or verbally hostile.

They risk hurting themselves and those around them if they act out in this kind of anger. It normally manifests in a variety of ways, including verbal abuse, physical conflict, blackmail, yelling, sarcasm, harsh criticism, and even false accusations.

Passive Aggression

Passive aggression takes place when people do not want to engage in any dispute and refuse to admit they are angry.

Procrastination is a common example of how it shows up when you aren’t enthusiastic about accomplishing something. Perhaps even a quiet display of anger, acting fine when you’re not, lying, or even pretending to be okay. The desire to control your anger leads to passive aggressiveness.

Assertive Anger

Being confident and in charge while discussing or listening to a problem is the greatest and the best approach to managing anger. No one is harmed by the act of expressing anger, and it’s a terrific way to convey how angry you are.

Additionally, it promotes relations. Assistive anger is about being cautious while speaking, self-assured when expressing your ideas, and receptive to other people’s viewpoints. This implies avoiding yelling or losing your cool. It involves attempting to communicate your point of view to individuals nearby without being aggressive.

Most people associate anger with unpleasant emotions. But there are gray areas when it comes to identifying your emotions. It is critical to understand that the feelings you experience are common. If you see things negatively, your likelihood of repressing your emotions rises.

It’s bad to suppress your feelings, and it might have a negative impact on your well-being. But why is anger viewed as harmful, and can anger ever be good? Since anger rarely results in a positive reaction, it is typically regarded as harmful.

What Cаuѕеѕ Anger Problems?

Anger feelings develop as a result of how we interpret and respond to specific situations. Everyone has their own triggers for being angry, but some common ones include the following:

• Feeling threatened, attacked,
• Irritated or powerless
• Unfair treatment

People interpret situations differently, thus a situation that makes you feel extremely angry could not make someone else feel angry at all (for instance, other reactions could include annoyance, hurt, or mockery).

But just because we all read things differently does not mean that you are interpreting something incorrectly if you become angry. How you perceive and respond to a situation depends on a variety of life factors, such as:

• Your upbringing and early years
• past experiences
• current circumstances
• life events
• thinking styles
• behavioral explanations
• evolutionary reasons
• biological reasons

Thinking about how and why we interact and respond to circumstances can help us learn how to better manage our emotions, regardless of whether we are angry about something that has already happened or something that is happening right now. It can also assist us in identifying productive strategies for managing our anger.

Why Do We Get Anger?

Even anger is a valid feeling to experience because it affects how you live your life on a daily basis. You must be able to accept and endure some discomforts if you want to properly understand your emotions. Keep in mind that without difficulty, transformation or growth is not possible. Consider these explanations for why anger could be advantageous to you.

Anger Helps Get What You Want

How do you know you have everything you need? Be aware of your anger. For instance, if you are headed home after a long day at work and are stuck in traffic, your internal organs may feel tense. Then, your spouse, who is taking it easy, asks you to prepare dinner or get groceries. This is a sign that you’re worn out, and your partner needs to start helping more.

Anger Helps Establish Your Boundaries

When you visit your parents, do you ever feel as if your stomach is churning out of control? You may be aware that they’ll question you about things for which you don’t have the answers. They can inquire as to whether it will be simpler for you to settle down with your spouse, obtain better employment, have a child, or have yet another child.

You need to set boundaries if you experience discomfort. Saying “Don’t question me about my career, relationships, or plans for babies for a while” is the appropriate response.

Anger can Help Accomplish Things

Are you angry at your employer because they don’t value the effort you put into your work? You can use your rage as fuel to push yourself to find a career that is even more gratifying.

Do you become enraged when you notice an income or gender wage gap? Use your rage to engage in activism or take action to make the situation better. If used correctly, it can be a strong instrument for reaching your objectives.

Anger can Strengthen Relationships

The majority of people believe that being angry is harmful. They believe that it is not a good idea to fight with your partner. Do not believe what you hear. Anger can intensify a tense relationship. You can only comprehend your spouse’s needs and boundaries when you are in a confrontation with them.

Only when you work together and resolve any differences or disputes you may have equality enter a relationship. When you begin to fear your anger or the rage of others, all you can do is decide to remain passive.

It implies that you tend to avoid situations and other people who could arouse unfavorable feelings. So, is experiencing emotional pain beneficial to you? Yes, it is the answer.

Myths About Anger

One of the strongest emotions you can feel is anger, according to experts. But it’s frequently misinterpreted. Sadly, all of the beliefs surrounding anger have a tendency to lead to dysfunctional behavior. You will discover the truths and myths regarding anger here.

Anger is Always Negative

Please understand that feeling angry is common. However, anger isn’t just a typical emotion; it can actually be rather beneficial. Anger, when channeled in the right way, can be quite helpful.

History has demonstrated how anger, when used wisely, can be productive. When people are angry, a number of social injustices were overturned. What may have happened if Martin Luther King Jr. hadn’t been so furious?

Anger and Aggression are the Same

When it comes to the idea that anger and aggression go hand in hand, many people seem to be puzzled. Anger is a normal emotion, but acting violently when angry is not. Anger can be controlled without resorting to any form of violence. The best course of action is to refrain from acting aggressively.

Anger Management is Futile

People’s lives might become a complete mess if they lack the ability to control their anger. Anger outbursts that border on the insane can be problematic in both your personal and professional lives.

When you need to minimize the severity of your outbursts, therapy and anger management techniques can be helpful. The art of controlling your anger is not a time waster, and thinking otherwise is merely an illusion.

Anger is not Controllable

There is a small amount of truth, but not much more. It might be challenging to control emotions like anger and terror following a highly scary event. Consider getting sucked into a nightclub or being startled by someone going through a dangerous area.

You’ll find it challenging to manage your immediate reactions. However, most of the scenarios that can make you angry are comparable to these ones.

These scenarios usually include people you have built ties with (friends, coworkers, family members), and whose actions have hurt, annoyed, or frustrated you in some way. The frequency and intensity of anger are remarkably controllable under these circumstances with effort. Furthermore, you have total power over how you react to any circumstance.

It is All in Your Head

There is also the notion that anger is confined to the mind. Consider a period when you experienced great anger. Your heartbeat may have accelerated, or you may have felt heated to the touch or noticed that your hands were shaking.

 As a result, it’s likely that your anger is a physiological reaction rather than merely something you think about. Your physiological reaction is likely to make you more aggressive and give you ideas about being angry.

Learning to relax your body will enable you to relax your thoughts, which will aid in your relaxation. It’s crucial to calm your body as well as your head in order to control your rage.

Anger is Inherited

There is nothing you could do to change the circumstances. It’s an accepted myth. Many people believe that their genetic heritage has made their personality and behavior more than just “cast in stone.” “My mother is considerably more tough, but I have her anger.” It seems hopeless when people say stuff like that frequently.

However, real-world observations and a multitude of scientific evidence disprove this. Nobody can be born with a set of fixed ways to express their rage. Studies have demonstrated that although expressing anger is a learned behavior, it is also feasible to acquire more efficient ways to do so.

Anger is Released by Venting Out

Some people think that yelling, throwing things, striking pillows, and even ruining their homes will make them feel relaxed. It is said to help since it is a release for rage.

These acts, however, will only make you feel worse. It’s critical to understand the source of your anger if you want to manage and control it. You won’t ever be able to control your anger if you can’t identify where it comes from. Therefore, it is a myth that having an angry outburst or venting can make you feel better.

Ignore It, and It Will Go Away

Many individuals think that if they ignore their anger, it will go away. You’re doing yourself no favors if you try to control your anger and prevent it from happening. It’s a bad idea to hold your rage inside.

Avoid hiding your anger behind a grin or denying that you are angry by allowing others to unfairly criticize you while you try to avoid conflict. You will experience fury later if you suppress your anger and store it in your own head.

You may experience physical and mental problems as a result of suppressing your anger. It can injure your body and mind if you can’t control your anger.

Anger Serves No Purpose

For understandable reasons, anger has a poor image. Anger is frequently unreasonable, misplaced, and harmful to the angry individual as well as others. Anger has historically been used as an excuse for doing a lot of bad.

Despite these harsh truths, rage can have a very beneficial function. Anger is a signal that provides information and influences, motivates, and directs conduct. It may provide you with the strength you need to endure a grave circumstance.

You would be much more likely to let people treat you badly if you didn’t have anger. Anger makes you leave an unfair situation or change it, just as pain makes you pull away from a hot object.