In working with numerous persons affected by anger issues, it is crucial for a clinician to understand the undertones of his or her person’s anger; where the anger is generated from. Additionally, it is equally important for the clinician to help his or her person recognize if there are any self-defeating behaviors such as hidden core negative beliefs (i.e. not feeling good enough, guilt, shame, losses, anxiety, depression, and etc) that need to be dealt with; hopefully, with the help of a professional clinician.
According to research, self-defeating behaviors or emotions generated by anger may be secondary to the emotion(s) presented by the person. According to Seltzer (2008), “Anger is almost never a primary emotion especially when anger seems like an instantaneous, knee-jerk reaction to provocation, there’s always some other feeling that gave rise to it….And this particular feeling is precisely what the anger has contrived to camouflage or control.”
However, anger is not always a bad/negative reaction or response to an unwanted provocation or events, such as a medical diagnosis of some disease that causes other various emotions to surface. Release of anger may come to the person as a disguise or cover-up to ward-off psychological or physical pain or hurt imposed by others or self. In addition, anger, as a secondary emotion, may be used by the person as an unconscious self-defense mechanism to find immediate comfort from feeling attacked by any unwanted force of action.
Once more, as previously mentioned, anger is not always a bad/negative reaction or response. On the other hand, when anger is not properly investigated, to find out the source of its existence, the person is left feeling “stuck”. Getting professional help to identify anger’s hold or where the hold comes from can help ease the person’s feelings of overwhelment and defeat.
There is hope and freedom from anger. Understanding a person’s anger and where it comes from can be the best discovery a person can make to have more peace and contentment in a person’s life.
Reference:
Seltzer, Leon F. 2008, Psychology Today 2019 Sussex Publishers, LLC
