“You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”
– Buddha
Anger is a strong emotional response to a perceived slight, threat and hurt. It impacts the whole body and mind.
Emotions are controlled by the limbic and autonomic nervous systems. Whereas the limbic system seems to be the engine of emotions, the autonomic nervous system carries out the effects of our emotions eg. fight or flight.
The complex set of structures called the limbic system are situated on both sides of the thalamus, just under the cerebrum. It includes the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, the amygdala, and several other nearby areas. The amygdala are two almond-shaped structures that are responsible for our emotions.
They identify threats or hurts and send out a warning sign to the autonomic nervous system. The efficiency of the system is such that it can get us to act before the cortex can modify it’s commands. Why is that important? Well, if we react to emotions as directed by the limbic and autonomic nervous systems, our actions are without thought and judgement. Our actions are without consideration of consequences. It is the cortex that gets us to consider our actions.
Thus an angry person runs the risk of action without thought and judgement.
As one gets angry, the muscles tense up. Epinephrine (adrenaline) is released giving one a burst of energy and the desire to take immediate action. The focus narrows, the heart rate and blood pressure increase, blood flow to the arms and legs go up. More neurotransmitters are released putting the angry person in a state of very high arousal. One is ready for a fight.
It is at this point that the cortex is supposed to step in and get one to asses the reasonableness of the planned reaction and consequences. The ability to step back from this angry state and look at things sanely takes some training. It can come from our upbringing, our belief systems or techniques one has learnt (breathing exercises).
If one is able to step back, reassess the situation and take control of the emotion, the cool down phase starts. Now this phase takes a while to get one to the resting, calm state of affairs. It can take days. The problem is, if the cause of the anger re-emerges in this phase, the threshold for getting angry is much lower. The intensity is higher and the chances of acting on the emotion increases.
Beside getting one to act without reason and judgement, anger also makes people think in more negative and prejudiced terms about outsiders. It makes one deal more in stereotypes and hinders analytical thinking, unlike sadness or fear. There is the tendency to place blame on another person for one’s misery. Angry people also tend to find causes for issues that are charged with anger. So an angry person is wont to listen to the pundit who preaches anger-illiciting reasons for societal ills.
Anger is however not wholly a negative emotion. When harnessed well, it can lead to positive action due to arousal. Arousal is a very important human condition. Human action of any sort is preceded by arousal. Every athlete will tell you that a certain level of arousal is needed prior to competition. Moderate arousal levels help the brain to learn and enhance memory, concentration, and performance. So controlling one’s anger stems the hasty action but leaves a level of arousal that can be harnessed to effect real change, create or even learn. When arousal is excessive as in the angry state, it limits our ability to concentrate, learn and remember. Any surprise most do not remember an angry outburst?
Also, anger can be feigned as a strategy to manipulate or even affect the outcome of a negotiation.
The powerful emotion that is anger is meant really to be a force for good. This force can only be realized if we can tame it through the right coping strategies like behavioral therapy and meditation. Then one angry person may have minimal effects socially, but an angry populace can have massive detrimental societal ramifications.