Causes for Anger in Interpersonal Communication

This harmless and commonly felt emotion, Anger, has the ability to be felt more intensely and turned into an aggressive and dangerous form of behavior as a matter of many reasons.

One of the most common reasons in today’s context is stress; Workplace stress, Educational stress, Family and peer pressure and overall stress to keep up with the fast pace in which society is moving so that we don’t fall behind. This feeling of stress is what causes irritant feelings and frustration among individuals. An article that focused on the effects of anger and fear on interpersonal communication, outlines how various individuals were asked how they express anger that triggered responses such as crying, throwing things, cursing and screaming to which authors concluded were uncontrolled reactions to frustration or stress (Strumska-Cylwik, 2014). Over the years with the different pressures to be successful in the world, we have seen the levels of stress at a significant increase than when compared to the world 10 or 20 years ago. In the research survey that was conducted to support the findings of this interpersonal communication problem, 58.3% recorded that stress was one of the main factors that was most likely to be the cause of their anger.

However, stress alone does not allow an individual to become angry enough to become hostile and anti-social. Other factors that are recorded to fuel anger that are most often coupled with stress are feelings of helplessness, feelings of being disrespected, feelings of anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed (Black). For people who put pressure on themselves to succeed or place high expectations on people and situations and are adamant to make sure things go their way, the feeling of helplessness, disappointment and frustration can lead to anger that could build up over time, if not dealt with in the proper manner. In her article Cylwik states that anger is commonly seen when actions and efforts end in failure and the reactions such as rage and aggressive anger that occur as a result, stem mainly from feeling a sense of helplessness, powerlessness and exhaustion (Strumska-Cylwik, 2014).

Anger can also stem from a feeling of being disrespected. The interpersonal communication problem of anger that has developed as a result of this feeling, can be found in both men and women. While domestic violence portrays as a good example of this cause of anger that points blame at men, women too are seen to develop a sense of anger when being disrespected and constantly being told what to do. In a study found in the article by Strumska-Cylwik, a women’s response to anger was, “I get terribly angry when someone tells me what to do and tries to manage and manipulate me”, showing that the feeling of being disrespected plays a role in anger despite gender differences.

In more severe cases, anger is caused by past traumatic and hurtful experiences that have generated feelings of resentment and hurt over time and fueled into anger and hostility. Most times when such experiences have been the cause of the levels of anger and aggression in individuals, it is because they have bottled up their emotions and have been unable to express their feelings in a healthy manner. In the research survey that was conducted in response to this topic, 66.7% of respondents said they kept their emotions to themselves. In today’s context, than when compared to a few years ago, the lack of free time, a safe environment and the inability trust people have left many feeling uncomfortable to share their emotions, especially critical ones such as anger. By doing so, it is high likely that individuals who feel just the average level of emotion allow it to spiral into a dangerous and unhealthy expressive behavior that affect their physical being as well their interpersonal interactions. The increase of school shooters mentioned in the problem category are a good example of how anger has spiraled into violent and hostile acts as a result of the inability to express frustration and other feelings that triggered anger.

Causes of overly Prideful Communication

The definition of pride that carries a negative connotation happens in people who are foolish and irrationally corrupt about one’s personal value, status or accomplishments. Pride is known by phycologists as a complex secondary emotion that requires the development of a sense of self and the ability to distinguish between other emotions, like joy and sadness. What this entails is sense of superiority with others while communicating . The root causes for an overly prideful person could be because of praise received by the person that the person mistakes for unanimous praise by a large group. Or perhaps just an independent appraisal. Researches believe that once communication breaks down because of pride it leads to a toxic cycle. Within a family it can create a schism that is hard to repair if it leads to a prolonged period of tension. Pride has been identified in almost every holy book as a vice. It has existed for as long as human societies have been around. And it will continue to be around for as long as we continue to live.