I came across a post form the Daily Stoic recently which struck a chord as in my experience anger as a therapist, I see the corrosive impact of anger on people. The post said….
“There are a lot of things that oppose us in this life. Starting with gravity, we are held down by so many things: other people, bad luck, injustice, unfavourable odds, and god only knows what else. We struggle to get ahead. We struggle to realize our potential. We run into so many obstacles.
But in many ways our biggest obstacle, our most dangerous opponent, is anger.
Our own. And other people’s.
Anger, ancient Stoic thinkers said is the ugliest and most savage of all emotions—because “no plague has done more harm to humankind.” and “it is hard to fight with anger, for whatever it wants, it will pay the price, even at the cost of life itself.”
Anger kills the human spirit. And creates villainy in its place. There is a reason in the first three Star Wars movies that the Emperor is the most hopeful in the fight for Luke Skywalker’s soul when Luke is at his angriest. Anger is what makes people hate each other. It makes us make mistakes from which we cannot recover. Anger is why we hold onto grudges, even when they are holding us back. Anger is why people act impulsively. Anger is why we had trouble sleeping last night. Anger is what makes our heart beat faster, stressing us out, harming our own health.
Anger cares about nothing but its own satisfaction, its own relief. And it’s going to get it from you—from the world—even at the cost of your own life. Anger is a sure fire way to shorten it. So you have to tame your temper. You have to get this under control. It’s your most dangerous opponent. It’ll kill you if you’re not careful.
I think this says it all and is one of the reasons why I find it so rewarding to help people through hypnosis to learn how to tame their anger and redirect their energies in mouch more productive, life enhancing ways for them.
