Anger is a common emotion that everybody experiences in life from time to time. Anger is a normal response to some threat. It is a protective emotion that help us to defend ourselves against physical/ psychological harm. However, anger may also be unwanted, irrational and destructive. When we experience anger, our amygdala goes into action and overrides the cerebral cortex which is in control of thinking and evaluation.

Triggers of anger refer to any event that signals the brain to activate the body’s anger system. The triggers may be (i) verbal, for e.g., being blamed, disrespected or abused (ii) non-verbal, for e.g., being ignored unappreciated or rejected, (iii) physical such as physical threats, sexual/ physical assault, etc.

There are three factors involved in the experience of anger: A trigger (causes of anger) → individual’s personality → particular interpretation of that situation. As the experience of anger is subjective, it can be controlled too. If we understand the triggers of anger, we can anticipate potential anger episodes and provide an intentional / acceptable response.

The emotional center of the brain is the Limbic system and is more primitive than the cerebral cortex. It is located in the lower section of the brain. Hence when a person is experiencing and expressing anger, he or she is not using the cortex (thinking section) but primarily functioning from the limbic system. In the limbic system, a small structure called Amygdala which is a storehouse of emotional memories plays an important role in the emotional outbursts. The data coming in from the world around us passes through the amygdala where the decision is made whether to send the data to the limbic or cortex area of the brain.

If the incoming data triggers enough of an emotional charge, the amygdala can override the cortex, which means the data will be sent to the limbic system causing the person to react using the lower part of the brain. During an overriding event, the amygdala goes into action without much regard for the consequences (since this area of the brain is not involved in judging, thinking, or evaluating).

Eg. You are waiting patiently in the queue at the bank, a person comes and cuts the line and moves ahead of you, you scream at them and ask them to go back. On an average, it can take 20 minutes for a person who has experienced an angry state of arousal to calm, to move from functioning from the emotional area to the thinking area of the brain.