Emotions — Psychology STD 12 Commerce / Arts — Question

Anger is a common emotion that everybody experiences in life from time to time. Anger is a normal response to some threat. It is a protective emotion that helps us to defend ourselves against physical/ psychological harm. However, anger may also be unwanted, irrational and destructive. When we experience anger, our amygdala goes into action and overrides the cerebral cortex which is in control of thinking and evaluation. Triggers of anger refer to any event that signals the brain to activate the body’s anger system. The triggers may be (i) verbal, for e.g., being blamed, disrespected or abused (ii) non-verbal, for e.g., being ignored unappreciated or rejected, (iii) physical such as physical threats, sexual/ physical assault, etc.

There are three factors involved in the experience of anger: A trigger (causes of anger) → individual’s personality → particular interpretation of that situation. As the experience of anger is subjective, it can be controlled too. If we understand the triggers of anger, we can anticipate potential anger episodes and provide an intentional/ acceptable response such as it may energize us towards solving problems. As anger is a powerful emotion, it must be kept in check to avoid it’s destructive out comes.