Why So Much Anger?

THE causes of anger are complex. Even scientists admit that anger is poorly understood. However, there is general agreement among mental-health professionals that all of us react to certain “anger triggers.”

An anger trigger can be something that frustrates or annoys someone. These triggers often result from injustice or unfairness. They can occur when we feel slighted, such as through insult or disrespect. An imagined threat to our authority or reputation can also stir up feelings of anger.

Of course, “anger triggers” vary from person to person. They differ with age and gender and even from one culture to another. Moreover, reactions to these triggers also vary. Some people seldom get angry and quickly get over an affront, while others are easily provoked and may hold on to anger for days, weeks, months, or longer.

Our environment is filled with potential triggers. Added to that, sensitivity to these triggers may be rising. Why? One reason is the thoughtless, me-first spirit that is ever-present in our day. The Bible explains: “In the last days . . . men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, . . . headstrong, puffed up with pride.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Does that not accurately describe the attitudes of many people today?

Indeed, when self-centered people do not get their own way, anger is often the result. There are also a number of other reasons why anger may be a growing problem. Consider some of them.

Parental Example

One’s parents have a profound influence on personality development throughout childhood and adolescence. Psychologist Harry L. Mills explains: “From a very early age, people learn to express anger by copying the angry behavior they see modeled around them.”

If a child is raised in a hostile environment​—a place where tempers flare over trivial matters—​the child is, in effect, being trained to respond to life’s problems with anger. You could liken the child’s situation to a plant that has been nourished with tainted water. The plant may grow, but its development could be stunted, and it could perhaps suffer permanent damage. Likewise, anger is like tainted water, and children who have been exposed to it are more inclined to have anger problems as adults.

Cramped Cities

In the year 1800, about 3 percent of the world’s population lived in urban areas. In 2008, that number jumped to 50 percent, and by 2050, it is expected to reach 70 percent. As more and more people squeeze into crowded cities, the levels of anger and frustration are likely to rise. To cite one example, Mexico City is one of the largest and most congested cities on earth. Traffic jams are a major  source of anxiety. Home to some 18 million people and six million cars, Mexico City “could well be the world’s most stressed-out capital,” reports one journalist. “The traffic is intense, rendering tempers highly combustible.”

Crowded cities bring other sources of stress, including air and noise pollution, scarce housing, cultural clashes, and high crime rates. As the sources of stress increase, people have a tendency to get frustrated, angry, and lose patience more easily.

Economic Despair

The world’s economic meltdown has sparked widespread stress and anxiety. A 2010 joint report by the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO) states: “Over 210 million people across the globe are estimated to be unemployed.” Sadly, most of those who have been laid off are without any kind of safety net.

 Those holding a job do not fare much better. According to ILO, work-related stress is a “global epidemic.” “People are afraid for their jobs and are quick to assume the worst,” says Lorne Curtis, a management consultant in Ontario, Canada, adding that as a result, “they’re defensive and more inclined to argue with their supervisor or other employees.”

Prejudice and Injustice

Imagine how you would feel if you entered a footrace and found that you were the only one required to compete in leg irons. Millions of people feel similarly when they face racial or other forms of prejudice. People get angry when they face barriers that limit their access to jobs, education, housing, and other basic necessities.

Other forms of injustice can likewise crush one’s spirit and bring great emotional pain. Sadly, most of us have felt the sting of injustice at one time or another. Over three thousand years ago, wise King Solomon declared: “Look! the tears of those being oppressed, but they had no comforter.” (Ecclesiastes 4:1) When injustice is rampant and comfort is scarce, anger can easily well up in one’s heart.

 The Entertainment Industry

Over a thousand studies have been conducted to determine the impact television and other media violence have on children. James P. Steyer, founder of Common Sense Media, says: “A generation that’s been repeatedly exposed to intense, realistic violence grows up with more acceptance of aggression, less resistance to brutality, and less compassion.”

True, most youths who are routinely exposed to violent acts on television do not grow up to be vicious criminals. However, the entertainment media often portrays violent anger as an acceptable way to deal with adversity, and a new generation of people who are desensitized to violence has emerged.

Influence of Wicked Spirits

The Bible reveals that an unseen force is behind much of the harmful anger on earth today. How so? At the start of mankind’s history, a rebellious spirit creature turned against Almighty God. This wicked spirit creature is called Satan, which in Hebrew means “Resister,” or “Adversary.” (Genesis 3:1-13) Later, Satan induced other angels to join in the rebellion.

Those disobedient angels, known as demons or wicked spirits, are confined to the vicinity of the earth. (Revelation 12:9, 10, 12) Additionally, they have “great anger,” knowing that they have only a short period of time left. So even though we cannot see those wicked spirits, we feel the effects of their activities. How?

Satan and his demon hordes take advantage of our sinful tendencies by tempting us to engage in “enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, . . . revelries, and things like these.”​—Galatians 5:19-21.

Resist the Urge

Indeed, when we consider all these problems, pressures, and anxieties, we understand why people become frustrated as they try to manage their day-to-day responsibilities.

The urge to become angry and blow off steam can be overpowering! The next article will help us to see how to keep anger under control.

[Box on page 5]

YOU MAY HAVE SERIOUS PROBLEMS IF . . .

▶ You get angry over waiting in line at the store.

▶ You frequently argue with coworkers.

▶ You occasionally stay awake at night brooding over things that upset you during the day.

▶ It is difficult for you to forgive those who have offended you.

▶ You lose control of your emotions frequently.

▶ Episodes of anger are often followed by shame or regret. *

[Footnote]

[Box on page 6]

ANGER STATISTICS

The Mental Health Foundation of London, England, published a report entitled Boiling Point​—Problem Anger and What We Can Do About It. Key findings from the report include the following statistics:

84% feel more stressed at work than five years ago.

65% of office workers have experienced office rage.

45% of staff regularly lose their temper at work.

Up to 60% of all absences from work are caused by stress.

33% of Britons are not on speaking terms with their neighbors.

64% either strongly agree or agree that people in general are getting angrier.

32% say they have a close friend or family member who has trouble controlling [his or her] anger.

[Picture on page 5]

What effect can your outbursts of anger have on your children?

[Picture on page 6]

Does the entertainment industry shape your view of anger and aggression?