What Is In The Root of Your Anger?
Anger is one of the most destructive emotions we have. When we are angry, we forget about the whole entire world. The only thing we can focus on becomes how we feel. The body tingles, mind races, emotions are all over the place. So where does this anger come from?
Sometimes anger is the result of a deeper problem or often we feel angry when we feel physically and emotionally threatened. The threat can be to our values, beliefs, or physical wellbeing. Although there can be many causes for anger, there are some common root problems that may turn anger into a chronic issue.
Anxiety
Anxiety comes from feeling out of control in life, usually following certain situations. Due to anxiety, we may feel irritable, agitated, hyper and emotionally on edge. Chronic anxiety can also trigger anger.
Not knowing how to deal with anxiety and its triggers can lead to frustration, which can turn into anger. Additionally, if the anxiety is caused by fear or the anticipation of the fear, you may be feeling under threat, which can also trigger anger in return.
Unresolved trauma
Traumatic life events affect our well-being and practical life every day. Also, keep in mind that trauma doesn’t necessarily have to involve a major accident, physical violence, or abuse. Even common life events like rejection, neglect, or betrayal can lead to trauma, depending on the person.
When someone is affected by trauma, they may naturally feel under threat or they may feel vulnerable. As a result, anger can turn into a common reaction even in the most unexpected times.
Fear
Fear is a very primitive emotion for us, humans. For centuries, any time we encountered a physical threat or something that may put our existence at risk, we unconsciously trigger the fight-flight-freeze response, which is at the core of the fear. Nowadays, we don’t happen to encounter wild animals but we have stress, traffic, relationship issues, and deadlines. So we still find ourselves drowning in fear for a variety of reasons.
Fear can lead to feeling loss of control, anticipation, and eventually frustration which can result in anger. When we don’t know how to deal with the feared issue, we may take it out on something totally different as a distraction.
Resentment
Resentment and anger are two very similar emotions. Just like anger, resentment can be due to feeling threatened. But differently from anger, resentment is usually triggered because of an unfair act or violation of boundaries. So, it’s usually towards someone else.
At the root of the resentment, we often encounter sadness, guilt, anger, and disappointment. In other words, anger is usually a significant ingredient of resenting feelings.
Stress
These days stress is known to be the number one source of almost all the physical and mental problems that we experience. When stressed, the body releases the hormone adrenalin and we may find ourselves overwhelmed with the fight-flight-freeze response.
The effects of stress can be similar to anxiety. Additionally, stress may cause a lack of sleep or poor eating habits. As a result, stress creates the perfect recipe for anger. If you find yourself getting angry inexplicably, or very often, you may want to take a look at your lifestyle and habits. Does everything flow in a way that makes you happy?
Substance use
Different substances have different effects on everyone. For some people, excessive alcohol intake can result in anger while in others it may lead to calmness. If you find yourself often getting angry while you are under the influence of a substance, it may actually be the substance triggering the anger response.
Sometimes you may be familiar with how you feel when you take in certain substances. For example, many of us are very well aware of our feelings and actions when we drink alcohol. But what happens when you mix drinking alcohol with something else? Imagine smoking marijuana while consuming alcohol. What happens then? After all, mixing different substances can lead to different reactions and anger can be one of them!