Section 17
Healthy Anger & Anger Styles
Question 17 | Test | Table of Contents
Cultivating the power of your moods, thoughts and feelings
A little anger can be a powerful catalyst for a better life. But letting it all out — or keeping it all in — can endanger you physically and emotionally. Here's how to turn your pique into a peak experiences.
America has become a hothouse for hotheads. From highways and homes to TV and talk radio, fury and frustration abound. "We live in an argument culture, where aggression is rewarded unwittingly as the 'squeaky wheel,'" says W. Robert Nay, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and author of taking Charge of Anger. "We're also a very stress-ridden culture. We're on alert at all times, whether it's at the workplace, on the highways or at home. Being in this constant state of high arousal makes us more likely to act out our anger when things don't go smoothly."
Anger mismanagement
The fact that anger doesn't always show up as straightforward aggression complicates matters, says Nay. While some people express their ire in familiar ways, such as being ill-tempered with a spouse or chewing out a colleague who botched a project, others mask their hostility. That concealed rage may bubble up in the form of constant griping, catty gossip, cutting remarks, sarcasm, the silent treatment or writing people off with no explanation. Drinking and overeating are also common ways of numbing our feelings and taking the edge off our anger, says Deborah Cox, Ph.D., a psychologist at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield and co-author of The Anger Advantage.
Bottling up anger can have unhealthy repercussions. A University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study found that women who didn't deal with their anger were more likely to exhibit early signs of heart disease. In her own research, Cox found that people who tried either to conceal their anger or externalize it by blaming others were at higher risk for anxiety, tension and panic attacks.
Self-esteem suffers, too. Those who beat themselves up for being spineless "feed a sense of powerlessness that is directly associated with depression," says Beverly Engel, a therapist in Los Osos, Calif., and author of Honor Your Anger.
A healthy rage
Anger isn't all bad: It can be a positive force, providing the impetus we need to make enriching, life-altering changes. Anger may help us come to a deeper understanding of ourselves or others, and it can be used as a springboard to help liberate ourselves from stagnant, abusive or suffocating relationships at home or at the office.
Studies at Hofstra University in New York found that anger episodes had positive long-term results 40 percent of the time, and that one-third of subjects felt such an incident let them realize their own faults.
"Anger can spark a clarity that helps us see situations in a different light," says Cox. That moment of truth may give us the courage to challenge an incorrect bill, change jobs or overcome a longstanding problem in a marriage.
what's your style?
Personally, it took the loss of a close friendship to make me realize that I had a problem with anger. Like many people, I kept mine locked away. Then something would set me off — a friend forgetting to call me or being late for a dinner date — and the indignation that had simmered for months over other minor slights would boil over.
Instantly, I'd regret my eruption and apologize profusely to patch things up. But one time, it was different. "Saying you're sorry doesn't make it OK," a friend curtly informed me.
I was stunned. To me, my anger was like lightning in a summer storm: a quick flash, then gone. But the experience with my friend made me realize that not everyone could brush off my outbursts so easily.
"We all have our anger styles, which are the ways we express our rage," says Engel. "These are typically learned in childhood, either from watching the ways our parents coped with their anger or as a self-protective reaction to the way they treated us."
Understanding how you deal with anger — or how you don't deal with it — can help you alter any destructive role it plays in your personal and professional relationships. There are, after all, constructive ways to vent your vexation.
"Assertive anger expression means standing up for your convictions but doing it in a conscious, deliberate way that also respects the rights of others," says Dallas psychotherapist Les Carter, Ph.D., author of The Anger Trap.
People who express their anger in healthy ways are confident that what they have to say is valid and legitimate, explains Carter. They don't shy away from conflict because they know it's a natural part of any relationship. However, they maintain their composure, which takes away the emotional charge that puts others on the defensive. Their behavior allows differences to be resolved in a reasonable way.
presence of mind — connections
Anger-prone individuals with normal blood pressure were nearly three times more likely to have heart attacks than those with the lowest anger ratings, according to a study at the University of North Carolina. The findings, published in Circulation, held true even accounting for risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol and excess weight.
Men are likely to cite lack of control as a reason for their ire, whereas women frequently say that being stretched by numerous demands is why they see red. "Women have a hard time even identifying the fact that they're angry," says psychologist Deborah Cox. "They need to learn how to say 'no' and not feel guilty."
- Marsa, L. (april 2004). Anger therapy. Natural Health, 34(4), 97-103.
Personal
Reflection Exercise #3
The preceding section contained information
about healthy anger and anger styles. Write
three case study examples regarding how you might use the content of this section
in your practice.
Reviewed 2023
Update
Anger, Agency, Risk and Action:
A Neurobehavioral Model
with Proof-of-Concept in Healthy Young Adults
- White, T. L., Gonsalves, M. A., Zimmerman, C., Joyce, H., Cohen, R. A., Clark, U. S., Sweet, L. H., Lejuez, C. W., & Nitenson, A. Z. (2023). Anger, agency, risk and action: a neurobehavioral model with proof-of-concept in healthy young adults. Frontiers in psychology, 14, 1060877.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Article References:
Graham, K. A., Dust, S. B., & Ziegert, J. C. (2018). Supervisor-employee power distance incompatibility, gender similarity, and relationship conflict: A test of interpersonal interaction theory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(3), 334–346.
Pham, S., Lui, P. P., & Rollock, D. (2020). Intergenerational cultural conflict, assertiveness, and adjustment among Asian Americans. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 11(3), 168–178.
Querstret, D., Morison, L., Dickinson, S., Cropley, M., & John, M. (2020). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for psychological health and well-being in nonclinical samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Stress Management, 27(4), 394–411.
QUESTION
17
What are people who tried either to conceal their anger or externalize it by blaming others at a higher risk for? To select and enter your answer go to Test.