Is anger a true emotion?
According to Paul Ekman's research, anger is one of the six “basic emotions” identified in the Atlas of Emotions along with disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise. Anger is felt by everyone at one point or another and it's completely valid as its own emotion.
Anger is the only emotion that doesn't exist on its own. There's always another feeling driving anger. It might be jealousy, disappointment, fear, disgust, anxiety, sadness – it could be anything. Often, anger is an easier one to feel, or an easier one to deal with than these other feelings.
Emotions evolved to keep us safe. Our fight response, which evolved so we could defend ourselves from an enemy or danger, stems from anger. Anger is embedded in our primitive need to live and protect ourselves against aggression. Anger drives people to be extremely vigilant about threats and sharpens our focus.
Anger is a negative feeling state that is typically associated with hostile thoughts, physiological arousal and maladaptive behaviors. It usually develops in response to the unwanted actions of another person who is perceived to be disrespectful, demeaning, threatening or neglectful.
Anger is often referred to as a secondary emotion, which may make it seem as though it is somehow less important than other emotions. Instead, it means that anger never arrives in a vacuum but is instead a response to other emotions that we may be feeling.
Generally, people tend to view anger as one of our strongest and most powerful emotions. Anger is a natural and "automatic" human response, and can in fact, serve to help protect us from harm.
The feelings that anger commonly masks include fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, embarrassment, betrayal, jealousy, sadness, hurt, and worry. When you feel angry, take a second to stop and ask yourself if you feel any of these emotions that may be causing your anger.
Anger is an intense emotion you feel when something has gone wrong or someone has wronged you. It is typically characterized by feelings of stress, frustration, and irritation.
There are three types of anger which help shape how we react in a situation that makes us angry. These are: Passive Aggression, Open Aggression, and Assertive Anger.
Psychologists say that love is the strongest emotion. Humans experience a range of emotions from happiness to fear and anger with its strong dopamine response, but love is more profound, more intense, affecting behaviors and life changing.
Is anger ever a good thing?
Well-managed anger can be a useful emotion that motivates you to make positive changes. On the other hand, anger is a powerful emotion and if it isn't handled appropriately, it may have destructive results for you and those closest to you.
Anger is rarely, if ever, justified
Anger is always a response to wanting something in the past or present to be different. The past or present can never be different from the way they were or are. It's simply too late to change either. We should 'accept what is', all the time, and focus only on changing the future.
Modern psychologists view anger as a normal, natural, and mature emotion experienced by virtually all humans at times, and as something that has functional value for survival. Uncontrolled anger can negatively affect personal or social well-being and negatively impact those around them.
As an emotion, it might be said that anger is not a choice. All emotions (anger, shame, guilt, fear, sadness, joy) are part of the experience of life. They are triggered by life events. Perhaps ones that are painful, ones perceived as threat or invasive.
Anger is a natural, adaptive response to threats; it inspires powerful, often aggressive, feelings and behaviors, which allow us to fight and to defend ourselves when we are attacked. A certain amount of anger, therefore, is necessary to our survival.
Anger can serve a number of useful, even vital, functions. It can put an end to a bodily, emotional, or social threat, or—failing that—it can mobilise mental and physical resources for defensive or corrective action.
Enraged. This is the stage when you feel completely out of control. You may exhibit destructive behavior when your anger reaches this point, such lashing out physically, excessive swearing, or threatening violence.
Both fear and anger motivate us, with fear being more powerful in doing so.
As I mentioned, anger is the second most powerful feeling we have, second only to joy.
Fear – One of the core triggers to anger is fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of success, and other fears may prompt the anger within you which may cause you to act or react in a certain way.
Why does anger become painful?
People change their feelings of pain into anger because it feels better to be angry than it does to be in pain. This changing of pain into anger may be done consciously or unconsciously. Being angry rather than simply in pain has a number of advantages, primarily among them distraction.
Silent anger is a non-verbal, internal way of experiencing anger. Although you may not verbally express it, it is possible for others to read that you are angry.
Stress, financial issues, abuse, poor social or familial situations, and overwhelming requirements on your time and energy can all contribute to the formation of anger. As with disorders such as alcoholism, anger issues may be more prevalent in individuals who were raised by parents with the same disorder.
In order from 1 to 6 they are: activation, modulation, preparation, action, feedback and deactivation. I will talk about each stage in detail below.
Happiness. Of all the different types of emotions, happiness tends to be the one that people strive for the most.