KOLKATA - 

“My purpose is to picture the cruelty of anger, which not only vents its fury on a man here and there but rends in pieces the whole nation.” 

Seneca

Murders, gruesome violence, and other crimes that result from wrath always manage to occupy center stage in media headlines and human lives in general. Mental health professionals, therapists, clinicians, political leaders, and motivational speakers tend to strictly focus on violent behaviors and their repercussions. However, anger, the emotion that usually precedes violence, continues to elude most discussions and debates.

The human brain is a critical juncture of study in medical science and tricks professionals into being side-tracked by the causes of anger. Primarily, the focus should be on better understanding anger or answering the question ‘What is anger?’

What is anger?

Anger resides in all people irrespective of their age, background, or culture. Anger is thus a social emotion that can be best understood as a substitute emotion for pain. Picture the following scenario: Someone is having a nice stroll on a footpath when a pebble flies through the air and hits him/her in the head. First, s/he feel pains from the pebble’s impact. Second, the victim tries to figure out where the pebble came from. Third, s/he discovers that a boy from the neighborhood threw it and is immediately furious at him.

However, simply stating that anger is a social emotion and a substitute emotion for pain still does not get past the tip of the iceberg.

Understanding psychological aspects of fury

Anger makes a home within people in different forms. While some are more prone