Summary

Understanding the neuroscience of emotions helps us to manage our emotions. Some people cannot identify the emotions they experience. Some people have physiological conditions leading them to have little control over their emotions or leading them to be unable to recognize emotional expressions in other people. Most of us are able to control our emotions. Anger is an emotion which can affect our health and can affect other people. Consider how your expression of anger can affect your interactions with other people. Does your expression of anger achieve anything? Imagine a world in which human beings managed their anger and channeled their anger into actions that help our world, not hurt our world.

Managing Emotions Through Awareness

Managing our emotions may seem like a simple task. Neuroscience tells us that emotions and their management require involvement of multiple brain centers. Being aware of our emotions is a benefit for managing them. Let’s explore further.

The Neuroscience of Emotions

I do not pretend to be an expert in the field. Due to my love of learning about neuroscience, I read. I will share with you a review article to help us understand the neuroscience of emotions. Please do your own research and consult experts in the field.

-Videos by Experts

Consider two videos cited below as references and which are presented by experts in the field.

The first is the Sense of Mind podcast episode entitled The Neuroscience of Emotions: How to Control Feelings. The episode runs for about 20 minutes. Hear the connection between the body and the brain. Thus, we can heed signals from our body to recognize that our brain is telling us something. Some people have a very poor awareness of their bodily experiences, poor interoception, which may contribute to a difficulty with identifying emotion.

Sense of Mind Podcast:

The second video is of much longer duration, over an hour long, and is entitled The Neuroscience of Emotion. David Barker, PhD, presents a comprehensive history of the concept of emotion. Barker is Assistant Professor at Rutgers University in the Department of Psychology. The description of emotional responses reveals three elements to an emotional response: behavioural response; autonomic response; and hormonal response. Take a listen:

The Barker Lab:

-Review Article

The review article by Alia-Klein et al (2020), entitled ‘The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions’, inspired me immensely. It also reminded me how much I do not know. Humility is a worthy state of being: I am but a speck of dust in the universe and over the course of the life of our world. I am not that important.

Alia-Klein et al discuss the neural networks implicated in the feeling of anger. The neural networks relating to anger include the salience network; the default mode network (mentalizing network); and the executive functioning network (self-regulation network). The authors identify that the reward network (habit network) may also be involved in feeling anger though this is only substantiated per the authors by two studies. Communication between the salience network and the executive functioning network is engaged in feeling anger, per review of the literature by Alia-Klein et al. Diseases associated with anger include cardiovascular diseases. There are genetic correlations to experiencing anger, as well as epigenetic involvement. The authors note the distinction between externally induced versus internally induced anger feelings. Not to be ignored is the difference between state anger (experiencing anger in the moment) versus trait anger (the tendency of a person to have a dominant expression of anger, regardless the situation). The authors explore feelings as a social construct which is reflected in our language and our behaviours as a society. Ultimately, an appreciation of the feeling of anger requires acknowledgement of the potential for safety concerns; the potential that one person is attempting to exert dominance over another being; and the potential that experiencing anger leads to a sense of reward, explained by different theories. Alia-Klein et al underline the relevance of cultural differences affecting the experience and expression of the feeling of anger.

Please read the article by Alia-Klein et al for a better understanding of their exposé on the feeling of anger.

Anger: Feeling and Thought

We choose to express anger and to acknowledge anger. I am deliberate in my choice of words, despite the reality that autonomic and hormonal responses are not entirely under our control. But, there are techniques we can employ to manage our emotions. Take a moment to review the video by Andrew Cooper-Sansone, cited above.

Some people suppress the anger and some people blow up. Sound familiar? In the end, expressing anger and experiencing anger, for most people, is a choice. There may be some people with have structural brain conditions and neurochemical conditions leading them to be more inclined to experience and express anger and who may require specialized treatment to address their anger.

Consider that for most of us, anger is a choice.

Take a listen to Juna Mustad discussing anger from both sides: the anger ”eruptor” and the anger stuffer.

Anger Is Your Ally: A Mindful Approach to Anger.

The analogy of a hand representing the regions of our brain implicated in anger and our response is elegant. Listen to Mustad describing this analogy.

Some people do not even recognize that the feeling they are experiencing is anger. This inability to identify one’s emotions is called alexithymia.

One way to stop yourself being held hostage by primitive areas of your brain is to take a deep breath and name the emotion. Yes, it works. Then, with a moment of distance from the situation, consider a different approach to the situation. Listen to the anger and identify what you have been ignoring and choosing not to address.

Musical Expressions of Anger

I suggest that Jennifer Holliday’s character in Dreamgirls is expressing a lot of anger and is missing the point. Why bother with someone who does not care? You could end up as Juna Mustad described herself after her abusive relationship.

Anger is what I hear with demands of her lover. You may hear another emotion in the character’s voice.

Listen for the anger of the character:

And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going

Jennifer Holliday nails it. But, the taste in my mouth as I feel the emotions expressed by her character leave a bitter aftertaste.

In contrast, listen to the cheery sarcasm in this song, performed Michael Bublé as if with a smile on his face.

It’s a Beautiful Day

At one point, the character embodied by Bublé likely experienced anger which he converted into the opposite emotion, tranquility or contentment or equanimity, however you wish to describe it. Employing opposite emotion is not the same as suppressing the emotion and is a technique characteristic of Dialectical Behavioural Therapy. Embracing an opposite emotion disengages attachment to the negative emotion, basically disempowering the negative emotion from overwhelming you.

Anger Cannot Control Me

I am guilty of letting anger hijack my behaviour. I aim to practice the approach espoused in “It’s a Beautiful Day”.

Will you join me?

As Juna Mustad challenges us to consider, what would our world be like if we channeled our anger differently?

Caveats: Our World of Injustice and Oppression

Taking the high road is not always easy.

I am trying to be kind to everyone, even to those who oppose my worldview. I try to admit when I am angry and remind the person in interaction with me that I am angry with their views, the actions of their company, or the information they are delivering to me. I am not intending them to take this personally. My anger is not towards their existence as a human being.

But, sometimes it is difficult to demonstrate our equanimity when “systems”, such as the broken healthcare system in this country, deliver bureaucratic niceties which are equivalent to drivel.

Still, remember, the customer service member speaking with you is just a spokesperson for the company. Take your complaint up the chain of command. Take your complaint to your elected official. Drop the company like a hot potato. Just don’t dump your anger in the plate of someone else, the messenger. In the end, we have a choice, including how we express our anger. The choice is ours.

And, remember the wisdom of Joni Mitchell: From Both Sides Now. There are always two sides to a situation.

Be well. Stay safe. Remain in control.

Disclaimer: This post is not meant to substitute for a consultation with your mental health professional team.

If you are having thoughts to hurt yourself or someone else, please call 9-1-1; call 9-8-8; or go to the nearest emergency room.

Selected References:

Alia-Klein, N., Gan, G., Gilam, G., Bezek, J., Bruno, A., Denson, T.F., Hendler, T., Lowe, L., Mariotti, V., Muscotello, M.R., Calumbo, S., Pellegrini, S., Pietrini, P., Rizzo, A., Verona, E. (January 2020); The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Vol. 108, 480-497. Accessed online on January 19, 2025, at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763419302167

Barker, D. (May 30, 2023). The Neuroscience of Emotion. The Barker Lab. Accessed online on January 20, 2025, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnKRMkIHNn8

Cooper-Sansone, A. (September 7, 2024). The Neuroscience of Emotions: How to Control Feelings. Sense of Mind Podcast. Accessed online on January 20, 2025, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAENVT_Z0Ow

Lee, K.S., Murphy, J., Catmur, C., Bird, G., Hobson, H. (October 2022). Furthering the language hypothesis of alexithymia: An integrated review and meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Vol. 141. Accessed online on January 19, 2025, at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763422003530

TEDx Wabash College. (May 20, 2019). Anger Is Your Ally: A Mindful Approach to Anger. Juna Mustad at TEDx Talks. Accessed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbVBsrNnBy8