Anger Management and Health
Anger Management And Health
by, Danita C. McCoy
Anger Management and Conflict
Dr. Daube, Instructor
November 6, 1996
Everybody feels anger from time to time. People have been documented feeling anger since biblical times when God was considered angry. Babies even exhibit signs that are interpreted as anger, such as crying or screaming. Anger is not in any way unique to people. Animals also have the ability to feel and express anger.
In our personal lives we get angry over at least one thing on almost a daily basis, whether it be on the job, with a spouse or loved one, or perhaps with a figure of authority. Many psychologists have written about anger, discussing the relationship between anger and fear. Each of the individuals that comprise humanity possesses at least one phobia, in the same way that each is capable of possessing anger. The negativity that is associated with phobias often spills over into our feelings about anger. We begin to think negatively about anger since we associate it with fear.
Plato was the first to suggest that anger was a disbalance. According to
Dr. Willard Gaylin, a prominent psychologist, anger is still seen as a disbalance by many of today 's psychologists. Since Plato, anger has suffered a bad reputation. We only have to imagine a domestic abuse scene to immediately condemn anger in all of its manifestations.
There is a reason why anger is viewed in a negative light. Nobody likes it when someone is angry with them. We tend to avoid the wrath of those around us.
This is one reason we see anger as negative. Another reason may lie closer to
Plato 's concept of imbalance. The negative perception of anger is evident in the American Heritage Dictionary 's definitions of the word anger (1): 1. A feeling of extreme displeasure, hostility, indignation, or someone or something; rage; wrath; ire. 2. (Obsolete) Trouble; pain; affliction.
To say, "I 'm getting angry", is to invoke fear in another,
by, Danita C. McCoy
Anger Management and Conflict
Dr. Daube, Instructor
November 6, 1996
Everybody feels anger from time to time. People have been documented feeling anger since biblical times when God was considered angry. Babies even exhibit signs that are interpreted as anger, such as crying or screaming. Anger is not in any way unique to people. Animals also have the ability to feel and express anger.
In our personal lives we get angry over at least one thing on almost a daily basis, whether it be on the job, with a spouse or loved one, or perhaps with a figure of authority. Many psychologists have written about anger, discussing the relationship between anger and fear. Each of the individuals that comprise humanity possesses at least one phobia, in the same way that each is capable of possessing anger. The negativity that is associated with phobias often spills over into our feelings about anger. We begin to think negatively about anger since we associate it with fear.
Plato was the first to suggest that anger was a disbalance. According to
Dr. Willard Gaylin, a prominent psychologist, anger is still seen as a disbalance by many of today 's psychologists. Since Plato, anger has suffered a bad reputation. We only have to imagine a domestic abuse scene to immediately condemn anger in all of its manifestations.
There is a reason why anger is viewed in a negative light. Nobody likes it when someone is angry with them. We tend to avoid the wrath of those around us.
This is one reason we see anger as negative. Another reason may lie closer to
Plato 's concept of imbalance. The negative perception of anger is evident in the American Heritage Dictionary 's definitions of the word anger (1): 1. A feeling of extreme displeasure, hostility, indignation, or someone or something; rage; wrath; ire. 2. (Obsolete) Trouble; pain; affliction.
To say, "I 'm getting angry", is to invoke fear in another,
Bibliography: 1 American Heritage Dictionary Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA 1985 2 Gaylin, Willard, M.D. The Anger Within: Anger in Modern Life. Simon and Schuster, New York, NY 1984 3 Internet Research: Coping with Anger, 1996 4 McKay, Rogers When Anger Hurts: Quieting the Storm Within. New Harbinger, Oakland, CA 1989 5 Bernstein and Rozen Dinosaur Brains: Dealing with all Those Impossible People at Work. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY 1989 6 Weisinger, Hendrie, M.D. Anger at Work: Learning the Art of Anger Management on the Job. William Morrow and Comapny, New York, NY 1995