Evaluating How Angry You Are

Everyone gets angry. After all, anger is one of those universal emotions —along with sadness, joy, and fear — that people throughout the world recognize when they see or hear it. But you and I may not experience anger to the same degree — and that’s really the crux of what this blog is about. What you need to determine is exactly how angry you are. To do this, you first have to agree on what anger is and what it isn’t. Anger is often defined as:

• The emotion you reserve for your enemies
• The emotion that most often accompanies or precedes aggressive behavior
• The emotion that triggers the fight component of your nervous system’s fight-or-flight response
• The emotion that is the opposite of fear
• The emotion that expresses itself in revenge
• The emotion that signals that you feel personally threatened
• The emotion that’s associated with blame
• The emotion that’s negative in tone
• The emotion that can be deadly when it comes to your health
• The emotion that gets your blood boiling
• The emotion that you’re most afraid of
• The emotion that expresses the combative side of your personality
• The emotion that everyone else around you is most afraid of
• The emotion that always does more harm than good

Anger, on the other hand, is not the same as:

• Hostility: An attitude of ill will synonymous with cynicism, mistrust, and paranoia
• Aggression or violence: Various types of behavior that are always intended to inflict harm on others.