When people feel angry, our bodies react in certain ways. Each person reacts to anger differently. This could entail a racing heart, a tight stomach, and quickened breathing. A common anger response is blood rushing to the face resulting in a hot sensation, but the physical appearance of such a phenomena varies greatly between individuals. Culturally, anger is expressed and characterized in greatly different ways. From country to country, one reaction may be considered justified while the same reaction may incite a negative reaction. When people begin to feel themselves becoming angry, it is important to step back and assess the situation. It is important to identify what is being felt and why one is feeling that way to gauge a reaction to the problem at hand.
Anger is a natural human emotion often associated with a negative connotation. Contrary to popular belief, a flourishing society is not an anger-free society. Anger can be and is often used for good. Scholars and activists alike argue that anger is a form of social justice, fighting for the rights of those who are oppressed because of their race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. Anger is one of the most powerful emotions that humans experience. This phenomena is an emotion that drives all types of actions. How can people harness this tool for good? An interesting development in anger-focused research suggests that prosocial anger– when one becomes angry for the plight of another–should be recognized as a "teachable moment'' (Cho & Kim, 2022). This is especially useful when considering the Black Lives Matter movement, in which anger became politicized and demonized, rather than focusing upon the incidence behind the anger (Cho & Kim, 2022).
For some individuals, anger is difficult to control, recognize, or measure. What angers one may not anger another. It can be triggered by many situations such as when one feels like they are being treated unfairly, when someone says something that insults us, and when someone does something that hurts our feelings. Anger is also associated with other emotions such as sadness, fear, and guilt. Anger can lead to aggressive behavior which harms not only the person who feels anger but also the people around them. Managing the balance between these emotions is difficult, but essential to the justice Project Humanities engages with.
Which leads us to previous programming by Project Humanities in September of 2020. Titled “The Uses of Anger,” this event was a Vital Voices event, where attendees were encouraged to share their experiences with anger [in this case] through a poem, work of art, or other piece of media. We encourage you to view the event recap video below and reflect on your own experiences with anger.
As we have discussed, anger can be used in positive ways, but this does not mean we must be ignorant of the opposite ends of anger. Like any emotion, unchecked anger can lead to decisions, actions, or words one may regret in retrospection. The more we repress our anger, the more it builds up and the worse it will be for our future. As a natural reaction to life experiences, anger need not be suppressed or avoided, but instead addressed head-on with an understanding of how to deal with it in a healthy way.
The first step is to face our anger, not repress it. To further illustrate the health aspects of anger, let’s look towards a study organized to analyze anger’s effects on long-term health. Dr. Earnest Harburg of the University of Michigan School of Public Health conducted a long-term study of two groups in which one group actively expressed their anger and frustration to peers, while the other group neglected to speak about it. The group that actively expressed their anger reported less health problems than their counterpart, especially in areas of cardiovascular health. (Biswas-Diener & Kashdan, 2014) The best way to deal with anger is by identifying what caused it in the first place and then finding ways to manage it and express it in a healthy manner.
Anger is an emotion that has long been misunderstood. There is an overdue need to change the conversation surrounding it. Instead of being seen as a mechanism for negativity, it is imperative to recognize the benefits to anger, as well as how to deal with the physical and mental effects. This blog’s recognition is merely that beginning. Healthy expressions of anger have the power to upend injustice and improve health outcomes. What makes YOU angry?
Sources:
- Biswas-Diener, R., & Kashdan, T. (2014). The right way to get angry. Greater Good. Retrieved December 26, 2022, from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_right_way_to_get_angry
- Cho, J., & Kim, J.-H. (2022). Compassionate anger as a mobilizer for social justice: Feelings application in curriculum design. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 54(4), 466–485. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2021.2009578
- *Audre Lorde, (1981). “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism”. Retrieved from http://www.blackpast.org/1981-audre-lorde-uses-anger-women-responding-racism.