Anger is an emotion like sadness and joy, it dwells in the inner recesses of man. Anger is a double edged sword that has a capacity for good and evil, though in many instances, it is used for evil. When well deployed, it could be used to confront social injustice and set captives free; however when it takes captive of a person, no greater fiend has you in its grip. Ancient philosophers like Galen and Seneca considered it as temporary m adness, while some others felt it was caused by yellow humour.
Anger has been the undoing of many a great man. It was reported that Alexander the Great in a fit of anger threw a spear at his childhood friend who was playfully taunting him and killed him. He later regretted his action and wept bitterly saying that though he conquered the then known world, yet he could not conquer his own anger. Proverbs 16:32 declares that he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. The bible in Ephesians 4:26 says be angry and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath.
Anger is an emotional response to provocation; some persons can be genetically predisposed to it by way of their personality type. Type A or choleric personalities have anger as one of their natural weaknesses which they must strive to bring under control. When persons with such weaknesses encounter Christ, successful anger control becomes an evidence of the work of grace in their lives. Moses was one biblical figure who had anger as a problem in his life. He killed an Egyptian who was maltreating a Jew as a Youngman and had to flee for his life because Pharaoh ordered him killed. In the book of exodus, he smashed the tablet on which the Ten Commandments was written when he saw the Israelites worshiping the Golden calf and had to have another written. When in Numbers 20:10, he vented his anger on the Israelites rather than do exactly what God asked him to do, God was angry with him and denied him entry in to the Promised Land.
Anger is generally a two stage process that begins with an experience of pain which may be physical or emotional and this in turn leads to a feeling of rejection or loss. The pain leads to arousal or a strong desire to act out in violence so that there will be a reduction in the pent up pressure in the person. Anger can also be generated by what has been described as trigger thoughts when a person attributes his/her pain to the actions of somebody else. Acting out or blowing your top which is generally believed to lower the tension within an angry person does not produce the expected relief, rather it aggravates the pain because it makes you remember all you have gone through. In this way, it confirms you have been wronged while justifying your outburst. Outbursts of anger may prolong your anger and make it easier for you to get angry again.
Anger can be controlled by choosing not to respond to the provocation or you can choose to respond violently. When you choose not to be provoked, you may habour resent against your provocateur or work to better understand the person and the situation with a desire to constructively resolve the issue. The more you starve anger of violent response to provocations, the better your mastery would be over it. The key to long term anger management is developing conflict resolution skills since conflict is very often the root cause of anger in many persons.
Dr Francis Edo Olotu is the Medical Director of Christ Hospital, Ondo. He is also a family counselor who regularly counsels married persons and administers pre-marriage counseling to couples about to marry in his home church of St John Bosco Catholic Church Ondo. He is a frequently featured speaker in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. He is married to Catherine and their marriage is blessed with four children in the age bracket of twelve to twenty two. Dr Olotu is the author of the following books: The Amazing Power in Fatherhood; Releasing the Power in Fatherhood as well as Your Guide to Cancer Prevention.