Anger Outbursts

Question: My wife and I have been having problems due to my anger outbursts. Is there anything I can do about this? Answer: Yes there is! The first thing to realize is that experiencing anger is not in itself problematic. The problem lies in the way anger is expressed. Anger is an emotion that often is good-directed with its origins in the social environment and it is aimed at the correction of an appraised wrongdoing. Anger can be accompanied by certain cognitive errors, such as attributing hostile intent when there is not one (or when the situation is ambiguous), failing to account for all the facts in a situation, failing to consider all possible solutions to a problem, not considering all of the consequences, and choosing an inappropriate (often aggressive) response. Anger also is associated with physiological changes, such as muscle tension, which can be used in the detection of anger. Anger can be a defense against vulnerability. It is important to differentiate anger from aggression and hostility. Aggression is a motor or verbal behavior with the goal of contact and the intent of harm. Often when a spouse or other person complains of angry outbursts, what they are complaining about are aggressive behaviors. Anger is not a necessary component of aggression, but it does make it easier to act aggressively. Finally, hostility is a chronic, decidedly negative attitude toward one or more people. It is easy to see how a hostile person can become angry easily and can choose to enact an aggressive response. Often people choose to manage their anger by suppressing it, or by "bottling it up inside." While this may help wit problems due to aggressive behavior, unexpressed anger has been associated with such medical problems as cardiac problems. So does this mean we are stuck in the proverbial Catch 22? Either one expresses one's anger and act inappropriately or one suppresses one's anger and experience medical problems? Fortunately, the answer is no. It is possible to express anger in a productive, appropriate way. To learn more about expressing anger, contact The Rice - Lewis Clinic. Answered by: Dr. Julie Howard, Ph.D.