Anger and rage are aggressive emotional responses triggered by frustrating, hurtful, or threatening situations. While anger is an appropriate response, it can lead to uncontrolled and violent behavior. The amygdala regulates these responses, and anger management programs can teach healthy responses. Uncontrolled anger can lead to intermittent explosive disorder, road rage, and violence. Techniques such as meditation and physical activities can help control anger.
Anger and rage are two forms of aggressive emotional response that can be triggered by frustrating, hurtful or threatening situations. The difference between anger and rage is a matter of degrees. While anger is an appropriate response to some situations, anger can lead to uncontrolled and violent behavior. Anger is linked to a medical condition called intermittent explosive disorder and dangerous social behaviors such as road rage. Both rabies and rabies are the result of physiological factors that create extreme reactions to threats in humans and other animals.
All creatures have instinctive, ingrained responses to perceived threats, sometimes known as the fight-or-flight reflex. In higher animals, including humans, these responses are regulated by hormones and the emotional center of the brain, the amygdala. This primitive but essential organ does not distinguish between genuine threats to life and limb and less serious threats, such as rude behavior. This is why people sometimes respond with anger that is out of proportion to the situation. In extreme cases, this can lead to acts of anger that are dangerous to the person or those close to them.
Anger is a powerful emotion that can sometimes override a person’s better judgment. It is, however, an adequate response to many situations, and it is possible to express anger in healthy and constructive ways that can resolve the issue without resorting to abusive behavior or violence. Examples include strongly worded communications to the proper authorities, nonviolent protests, and even lawsuits. Many therapists and counselors offer anger management programs to teach the difference between healthy and unhealthy responses.
Anger and rage both stem from the amygdala’s ability to override rational thought, a so-called “amygdala hijacking” which can be vital in life-threatening situations. In everyday life, however, most people are conditioned to suppress angry feelings, even when it’s appropriate. This can lead to emotional problems such as intermittent explosive disorder. This causes a person to commit acts of anger in response to relatively minor problems, such as car accidents. Often, people will later report that they “ran away” and couldn’t control their behavior.
These incidents have become so common that the media has coined the phrase “road rage,” along with later variations such as “air rage,” meaning violent explosions on commercial airliners. Uncontrolled anger can also lead to violence and murder, such as mass shootings in schools and workplaces. Mental health specialists suggest ways to keep anger and anger out of control. Meditation, deep breathing, and similar techniques have been shown to help people stay calm even in times of crisis. Physical activities such as contact sports allow people to express aggressive behavior in socially acceptable ways.
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