Author Spielberger makes a distinction between anger, which refers to ” emotional state marked by subjective feelings ranging from annoyance or moderate irritation to intense fury or rage “, And the angry character which is” relating to chronic individual differences in the frequency, intensity and duration of these episodes of anger ».

Anger would be distinguished from dissatisfaction or irritation by its greater intensity, its less frequent occurrence, its strong interpersonal character, and thanks to more threatening events.

Sometimes, when aggressive thoughts or actions cross the line between deterrence and revenge, anger can give way to hatred, which is a form of anger that lasts, losing all connection with the initial offense, and experienced towards a person or an object. 

The author Fava defines the fit of anger as ” a short period of anger at odds with the situation, associated with activation of the autonomic nervous system, manifested in symptoms such as tachycardia, hot flashes, chest tightness; she looks like a panic attack, but without the predominant symptoms of fear and anxiety ».

According to him, the criteria for identifying a fit of anger are:

• The registration of the event in a period of chronic irritability.
• An overreaction to minor annoyances.
• The existence, during at least one of the attacks, of four symptoms among the following: tachycardia, hot flashes, chest tightness, paresthesias, drunkenness, dyspnea, sweating, shaking, panic, feeling out of control, wanting to attack others verbally or physically, throwing or destroying objects.

Outbursts of anger are akin to panic attacks according to Perlis and his team. It appears that in 63% of cases, the fit of anger results in physical or verbal attack, in 30% of cases, by damage to property (throwing, destruction).

The outburst is made up of 3 phases: the “growl”, the “fit of rage” and the

” recovery “.

The rumble phase. During this phase, we observe small signs of impatience or mild discomfort (stomping your foot, biting your fingers, shaking your legs), or more threatening behavior (cursing in a whisper, cursing, glaring) . This is the best phase to intervene, preferably by gentle techniques aimed at reducing the level of arousal: by removing the individual from the hostile environment, by redirecting his attention, by asking him to apply deep breathing techniques…

The rage attack. During this phase, the individual’s capacities for mastery are overwhelmed. It is then impossible to prevent the situation from worsening by the use of logic or reason. It precedes a recovery phase.

Some authors have compared the fit of anger to orgasm. As when an individual is sexually aroused before orgasm, the individual is in an unstable state, and this state is resolved through orgasm. The individual passes a certain number of stages before moving on to the next stage, that of the “attack of rage”, characterized by a “flash point”.

Here are some tips to follow when an outburst occurs and before it falls into the critical “rage” phase.

• Retire to another room, take a shower, go for a walk. Wait at least 45 minutes may your calm be restored.
• Notify of your departure. Never leave without telling your loved ones. Tell them you will come back when you are calm. Let them know when you’re back.
• Move, jump, dance, run, do whatever activity you like to release overflow and tension. If necessary, go outside and scream at the top of your lungs two or three times.
• Tear up paper even if it seems completely unnecessary.
• Call someone you trust, a brother, sister, friend, father, etc. Let off steam and ask or accept that she takes over if necessary.
• Breathe through your nose. Slowly take long breaths and breathe out slowly.
• Take a step back and think about what makes you angry. Is it due to a lack of fatigue? Do you need help ?
• Find realistic solutions to improve the situation and reuse those that have worked in the past.
• Finally, apologize to the person you have offended. Commit to expressing your dissatisfaction in a different way the next time around. 

1) Hostile interpretation of a situation. Some people automatically tend to interpret the situation in a hostile way towards them, which more frequently arouses anger. Rather, these individuals tend to get angry “in reaction” to something, not “in proaction”.

2) The “rumination” process. Some individuals may react more emotionally to a situation after a so-called “rumination” process, which has the effect of amplifying the anger and the aggressive reaction. For information, rumination is the act of endlessly ruminating on an idea, a feeling in one’s mind.

3) Lack of regulation. Some individuals have a limited capacity to regulate certain emotions such as anger: we can consider that this is an inability to manage their own impulses. This typically unconscious cognitive control is not or little used, which does not reduce anger to the point of preventing the occurrence of aggressive behavior.

For social reasons, women would manage their own impulses better than men.

It is possible to act on these 3 levers of anger to reduce it. Each line of work significantly reduces anger in individuals subject to aggressive reactions. 

Most of the time, the trigger is an obstacle raised in front of the individual and which opposes his designs. But, there are many others, as well as contributing factors: 

• The transgression by others of a rule, of a taboo, having a narcissistic cost for the subject.
• Provocation by others (which would be the main factor to provoke it).
• Noises coming from the activity of others (music, door slamming, bodily noises, etc.) which promote the initiation of the process, especially if it is considered by the subject as an obstacle to his goals (for example, a slamming of the door will only induce anger if the individual finds that it interferes with his peace of mind).
• Reproaches from relatives for women.
• Strangers, objects and even more abstract societal questions.
• A negative view of the world.
• Erroneous beliefs about the normality of other people’s behavior.
• The premenstrual period (including the syndrome “premenstrual dysphoric disorder” is included in the classification of DSM-IV-TR).
• Exhaustion, lack of sleep and mental stress.
• Youth (irritability decreases with age, which would be linked to a decrease in the binding potential of D2 receptors).
• Alcohol, cocaine, benzodiazepines, amphetamines are particularly involved.
• Nicotine or caffeine deprivation.
• A predisposition to manic-depressive disorder, possibly linked to genetic risk factors.
• A hyperthymic temperament which would concern 8% of the population, in whom the habitual need for sleep is low (about 6 hours), mood swings, plaintive, impulsive and obstructionist. 

« It is desire, together with the love one has for oneself, which supplies anger with all the agitation of blood that courage and boldness can cause. » Descartes, 1649

« Everything that starts in anger ends in shame. ” Benjamin Franklin