Is anger a negative emotion? Always? What IS a negative emotion?

First of all, what is an emotion?

An emotion is a complex experience of consciousness, bodily sensation, and behavior that reflects the personal significance of a thing, an event, or a state of affairs.

So an emotion is an expression of a response to a feeling that in turn is a reflection of an experience.  Different people have different and individual perceptions of a situation, hence different expressions and manifestations of emotions. So no emotion is negative, they are the way we as individuals respond to stimuli, whether internal or external.  Once we realize that, we can consciously work towards developing self-awareness in order to be able to spot our triggers and regulate our emotions to work ‘for’ us rather than ‘against’ us.

Anger is a natural emotion too. Just like Happiness and Sadness, Anger is an emotion that is a response to one’s perception of a situation. It is often termed as a negative emotion because when the manifestation of anger is aggressive, abusive or violent, the consequences are intense and destructive.

But then, anger as a response to injustice, ill-treatment, disrespect, betrayal, violence or such other treatment, is genuine and necessary.  If someone is humiliated and ridiculed for their character, and they are asked to suppress their natural reaction of anger, or they are of a personality which does not respond with anger, who is being rightful here? The perpetrator of the ills is endorsed and given a free hand to continue their treatment?  If one sees injustice in the society, or workplaces, and there is no anger against it, it is nothing but apathy. If one experiences personal aggressions and does not get angry about their ill-treatment, it is victimhood, inflicted self-shame and guilt, helplessness and submissiveness. They may show up as frustrations which get pent up only to show up in the wrong places at wrong times.  Revolutions would not have happened if there was no anger against injustice and ruthlessness of rulers. Anger against unfairness in a system will lead to reforms.

It is necessary to get angry in certain situations.  But then, regulating that emotion, being able to think through and strategize and divert that energy towards a rightful destination is the key. Martin Luther King diverted the mass anger against discrimination into a streamlined movement, saying, “I have a dream!”

Self-awareness, management and regulation of emotions combined with empathy is the key to addressing heavy emotions. One loses control when there is an emotional hijack and emotions take over. Only conscious and mindful practice will help us have a hold on our own emotions while understanding others’ feelings and emotions.

Let us accept for now that anger has its own purpose and the way of its  manifestation is what matters most!