The Upside of Anger
Things can be positive or negative depending on the lens through which they are viewed. While it is true that anger is typically considered a “negative” emotion, it can be beneficial in certain circumstances.
Did you know that there is a positive side to getting angry? Sure, as long as things are balanced, no problem. It’s not always bad to be angry and expressing it correctly can help us avoid many problems and even illnesses.
Anger has been condemned for years as being evil, destructive, and necessary to repress, deflect or hide. Even today we still maintain that idea and try by all means not to show when we are angry. We believe that anger is something unreasonable, unmentionable and should not be shown. In a recent investigation on anger, it was indicated that while we tend to think that these emotions are negative, primitive, harmful.
But anger doesn’t only make us feel bad, cause unnecessary fights, say things we later regret and not measure the consequences of our actions; it can benefit us if we use it in our favor.
What are the benefits of expressing anger?
As is the case with all emotions, anger also has responsibilities, purposes and reasons to exist. It can be used for good intentions. Don’t believe it? Now you’ll understand why we’re saying this:
First of all, being angry is a force that motivates you. How many times has it occurred that after getting so angry about something you changed or worked to improve it?
Anger is a way to open or break down the mental and emotional barriers that keeps us from doing different things. If something causes us anger, it is likely that we’ll try to fix it.
Secondly, it has been found that angry people are more optimistic. Yes, you read correctly, though it may sound strange. People who are angry about something specific, as mentioned before, are taking more action to solve the matter. That’s why they know when something might work in the future and become less pessimistic.
The third benefit of anger is that this feeling can help us relate to others. Since anger is a way to communicate what we feel, especially when it relates to what we consider unfair, it is excellent for explaining to others what we think or feel.
We’re often taught since childhood that anger is bad, dangerous and should therefore be hidden. However, if we were given the opportunity to express anger, we would have fewer problems. Hiding when we do not agree with something or someone hurts any relationship.
Did you know that anger allows us to get to know ourselves more? This is because it gives us an idea of how we really are and how we react to things that happen.
It gives us valuable information if we use it wisely, helps form an opinion of ourselves and understand our lives a little better. In addition, it can be a wonderful way to motivate change in oneself.
Finally, anger can be used as a good strategy in negotiating. Many people use this feeling to get what they want. While we cannot say that this is legitimate, it may be another positive characteristic of anger that is worth exploring.