Anger is part of our daily lives, whether you like it or not. We all react differently to different factors and situations, and what might drive a person crazy, another person may cope with it a lot better. But regardless of what buttons are pushed in which situations, everybody gets angry once in a while and loses their temper. Some manage to control it better. Others, are lost. But we all have to understand that anger, along with joy, sadness, fear, surprise or happiness, is a universal emotion. Maybe 99% of the time anger is considered bad. And it is bad, however it also has various positive purposes when it comes to coping with stress. Anger energizes you, improves communication, promotes self-esteem and defends you against fear and insecurity. Because this emotion is so complex, here are some popular beliefs when it comes to anger:
Men are angrier than women
Contrary to popular belief, no, men are not angrier than women. There have been numerous surveys conducted on this particular subject, and they all concluded that women get mad just as often as men do: on average, about once or twice a week. However, men and women experience anger on different levels: men tend to report more intensive anger, while women tend to hang on to it longer. But any person, either man or woman, can turn anger into something positive if they redirect all that energy and passion anger entails.
Anger is good
As stated above, anger has a variety of positive aspects. Still, that 's all they are, aspects. On the whole, just when you think about domestic violence, child abuse, property damage, self-mutilation, and so on, needles to say that no, anger is not good.
You get more irritable as you get older
Actually, it 's quite the other way around. As people get older, they learn to cope better with their emotions and control their anger. Generally, as people age, they report fewer negative emotions and greater emotional control. Contrary to popular belief, most people tend to improve with age.
Anger becomes a problem only when you express it
Again, false assumptions. In fact, as few as 10% of people actually act out their feelings when they get angry. The rest of them? The other 90% either suppress their anger, by not talking about it, or repress their anger, by denying it. And the people who repress or suppress their anger need anger management just as much, if not more than those who openly express it.
Anger is all in the mind
This is a common belief that could not be more farther from the truth. Yes, emotions are filtered by the mind, but they are primarily physical in nature. And medicine can prove all the physical alteration one suffers when anger occurs. When you are filled with rage, the emotion is instantly manifested in muscles throughout the entire body, and its presence makes significant changes in the blood pressure, blood sugar levels, heart rate, respiration rate, temperature and so on. The physical almost takes over, before you 're aware of what 's happening.
Anger is caused by human conflict
Generally, this assumption might actually be true. But it may not be true at the same time. Yes, human conflict may be the most common cause, simply because there are millions of factors nowadays pushing the individual, and conflicts inevitably appear. But this does not make human conflict the exclusive factor leading to anger. In fact, people can, and actually do quite often, get angry just by being exposed to certain foul odors, aches and pains, hot temperatures, storms or other factors, none of which involve the actions of others.
Bottom line, anger is a universal emotion, which does not care for gender, race, social rank, age or location. It is an emotions that affects all individuals, from one end to another. We just have to learn to understand it, accept it and, ultimately, control it.
By Alexandra Burlacu
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