2 havingdoubledin 12 months.
Untilrecently,however,showinganger
wasa signof belligerence,or a lackof rational
self-control.Mostpeopletriedto keepthelid
ontheirsimmeringrage,asrighteousanger
wassomethingreservedforGodandthe
clergy.Butnow,sayshistorianDrBarbara
H Rosenwein,angerhas“beensecularised
andgeneralised...andeverybody’sangeris
virtuous.”Whichevercauseyousupport,
whetherit’sfeminism,eco-activismor
Brexit,expressingindignationcannow
feelbraveandnoble,andis a formof moral
superiority. But is it necessarily productive?SEEINGRED
“Aggressivebehaviourcomeswithhuge
economiccosts,”saysDrNadjaHeym,a
psychologistat NottinghamTrentUniversity
whospecialisesinindividualdifferences,
psychopathologyandantisocialbehaviour.
“Ithasa hugeimpactonrelationships,work
performance,mentalhealth,andhealth
ingeneral.”Whilewecan’tavoidanger
arising,allowingit tobecomepersistent
andchronicincreasestheriskofcrossing
thelineintoabusiveness.“It’sfunctional
to outlet your anger to some extent,” saysHeym.“[But]whatcanbedysfunctional
is howintenselyandhowfrequentlyyou
expressit,andhowlongit takes.”
Asa basicsurvivalinstinctinreactionto
a provocation,frustrationor threat,angeris
a triggerforthefightor flightresponse.“It’s
a hardwiredemotionwhichcanmobilise
usphysicallyandenergiseus,”saysHeym.
Theheartstartsracing,adrenalinekicks
inanda redmistcandescend.Tocontrol
theseanimalinstinctsthatareassociated
withthebrain’samygdala,ourorbitofrontal
cortexprovidescontext,whileourfrontal
lobesmonitorandregulateouremotions.
Butthissystemcanbedysregulated,
sometimesthroughgeneticinheritance
butalsolearnedthroughexample(such
asgrowingupina violenthousehold) or
poorangermanagement.
“Wehavethisunpleasantcardiovascular
response[whenwefeelangry]thatcan
raisemorenegativefeelings,andwe
feelweneedtogetridofthem,”says
Heym.Lettingit alloutinanoutburst
canbringa senseofrelief,butthemore
wedoit,“themoreweassociatethat
reliefwithangeroutbursts.”Thiscanleadtomindlessraging
trumpingactingmoreproductivelyon youranger.Similarly,
ruminatingandstewingwillfacilitatemoreangryoutbursts.
“Ifwekeepruminatingoverthatanger,andoverthetriggersthat
havecausedthatanger,wecarrythatnegative emotion with us,
which can intensify over time,” she adds.ABOVEPeoplearemore
likelytoexhibitangry,
agressivebehaviourwhen
part of a crowd
“THE TROUBLE WITH NON-STOPACCESS TO SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEWSOUTLETS IS THAT OUR BOUNDARIES,IDENTITIES AND VALUES CAN BEASSAULTED WHENEVER WE LOOKAT OUR PHONES”