Managing Anger: Explaining Anger

There is no simple explanation why some people are angrier than others; some of it might depend on our character or our early experiences. However the following contributory factors definitely act to maintain the situation.

• Habit - anger can become an automatic response to certain situations - and this habit can be reinforced by others if they have become used to us getting angry.
  
  
• Fear - anger can be felt as a response to situations that we fear will overwhelm us if we do not go on the offensive.
  
  
• Shame - anger can spring from the feeling that we have to fight to preserve our dignity and sense of self-worth.
  
  
• Loss - anger commonly accompanies the sadness which goes with a bereavement or severe set-back.
  
  
• Lack of assertiveness - if you cannot speak up for yourself and get some of your own way by negotiation you may find yourself exploding instead.
  
  
• Low frustration tolerance - when you go on the attack to deal with situations that most people would just put up with.
  
  
• Response to past trauma - if you have been badly hurt in the past you may understandably be reacting over-aggressively towards anything that seems threatening in the present.
  
  
• As a symptom of psychological or physical conditions - conditions that involve constant pain, changed hormone level or mental disturbance may trigger anger.