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Anger--a source of power! Anger can be used to create change, bring about reform and feed hungry people. Conversely, anger can be used to cause wars, personal illness, break up families and tear away the spirit of our being and our society. Where does anger begin? Why does it begin? How do we acknowledge the right of anger and continue to care for and respect the person? How do we help people to recognize and deal with the underlying cause of their anger so that they can become productive, happy people who make positive contributions to society? Why in more recent history has anger become a burden of our children--a burden they display to solicit our help?
This article explores issues related to anger and behavior, and reviews the role of schools in counselling and educating students dealing with behavioral difficulties. Anger is an emotion that has been well researched throughout history. This article outlines issues related to anger and health as well as counselling methods for dealing with anger. Students with behavior disorders are often viewed as angry children and adolescents. They grow up to have difficulties attaining gainful employment and frequently have higher rates of incarceration than their peers. This article describes the research literature in the hope of raising awareness and confronting the challenges facing educators, counsellors and administrators in today's schools.
Anger
Anger is an emotion that has a wide range of definitions. The Dictionary of Concepts in General Psychology defines anger as "a transitory emotional reaction that is subjectively compelling, often unpleasant, and varying in intensity from mild to distressingly strong. Anger consists of two components: disquieting subjective feelings and an awareness of physiological reactions that is characteristic of all emotion" (Popplestone and White McPherson 1988, 17).
Anger manifests itself in an assortment of physical reactions. We are able to recognize anger with a quick glance at the body. Reactions we see are "particular facial grimaces and body positions characteristic of action in the autonomic nervous system" (Reber 1996, 234). At times, anger produces an overt attack on people or objects. Anger is usually short in duration and often supersedes a multitude of similar responses such as hostility, frustration, aggression, rage and hatred. Aggression, hostility and frustration often last...