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ANGER - AN UNPREDICTABLE EMOTION
Marian Baltazar
Class of 1980, University of the Philippines College of Manila
AB Political Science
Anger is an unpredictable emotion that all of us encounter. We all have different set of moods and experience
varied emotions in dealing with our daily life. We inevitably face this inappropriate, subtle, intense, emerging
and an uncontrollable feeling of anger. We definitely know as to where our anger stems from. We have all felt
how it is to be angry. There are times that we tend to be fleetingly annoyed and we become so irritable leading
us to execute this kind of emotion.
There is still that ephemeral emotion that at times it can also be destructive. Yes, when we go out of control
with this feeling of anger, it can lead us to problems at work or even in our personal relationships. Apparently,
this affects the over-all quality of our life, making us feel as if we are at the beck of mercy and call of this
unpredictable emotion called anger. According to Charles Spielberger, PhD, a psychologist specializing in the
study of anger, he said that anger is “an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense
fury and rage.” He also said that this brings about physiological and biological changes; as in the moment we
get angry, our heart rate and blood pressure go up as well as the levels of your energy hormones, adrenaline
and non-adrenaline.
Anger can even impair our judgments too. We can even be too irrational when we are angry. People sometimes
have that tendency to get angry when they are criticized. They become very defensive. Come to think of it, that
would just be a natural feeling and I guess the best thing to do is not to fight back to avoid anger.
Let us not let anger lead us to sin for we know pretty well that anger, which falls under wrath, is considered to
be one of the seven deadly sins. It has been a fact that we cannot eliminate anger in dealing with our lives. We
can exert all our efforts not to get angry but to no avail. This is very true for there are a lot of instances and
circumstances in our life which may lead us to anger. A lot of things happen and will happen that may lead and
cause us to anger.
When we cannot really control ourselves and we get angry, we have to bear in mind that it should not lead us
to sin. We have seen several and a lot of instances when angry people resort to not only harming themselves
but also harming others. It even reaches to the point of getting the life of someone not only with the sarcastic
and nasty words that come out of our mouth but also getting the life of people physically. When we feel that
rage inside of us, let us try to pacify ourselves by thinking of all the nice and unforgettable things that
happened in our life. By means of this, we can divert our anger and be able to suppress it. Let us therefore
learn to control and be able to manage our anger for this is a very unpredictable emotion that can ruin our lives.
Questions for discussion:
1.
Are you able to control your anger? Why or why not?
2.
Do you get angry most of the time? What do you do when this feeling overrides you?
3.
Will anger do you good or bring you harm most of the time? Explain your answer.
4.
Are you able to suppress your anger? How do you do it?
5.
What are the underlying reasons why a person gets angry? Explain your answer.