Why Anger?

Anger has been a word in our vocabulary since early childhood. Its taught in schools and and in religious institutions. The word is defined by these learning institutions as an emotion. It appears on a sheet of paper with all of the other emotions attached as well; happy, sad, scared, excited, etc... It’s taught because as an emotion it is one of our defense mechanism used to let is know when we are in trouble.

As we look back through history anger has always found a place to exist. What has never been accepted and has always been punished was the behavior that came from the persons anger. In Biblical days it was okay for Moses to get upset with the Children of Israel, but when he broke the ten commandments he was punished by never seeing the land of freedom. When Jesus overthrew the money changers. Christians Re-constructed the definition of anger, anger became associated with righteous indignation and in certain justified instances it could be expressed, but fury and rage which could led to violence and desire for revenge were condemned.

Violence, hostility, aggression are behaviors aimed at hurting ourselves or someone else because we get out of control. Because our world is so fast paced its been mislabeled as anger. Today, frustration and intolerance are the main ingredient leading to behaviors of violence, aggression and hostility. We have so little patience and are almost always on the cusp of acting out. Why because its easier not because its the right thing to do. But because we think it will get us back to what we were doing before we got angry. But how often do you actually get back there or how long do you remain upset for?

Anger is really no different today, it remains an emotion and not a behavior. The punishment of aggressive behavior is different however. Putting someone to death is unnecessary now that we know that these behaviors are learned. What is learned can be unlearned. Anger Management groups are a great means of helping people to rethink the way they deal with their frustrations. My next anger management group is scheduled for February 16, 2015 at 7:30 PM. If interested please call (215) 661-9515