| Anger is normal human emotion. In itself it is not bad. Jesus felt anger when he walked into the Temple in Jerusalem and found people buying, selling and making profits from activities that were supposed to be spiritual in nature. Disciples were often angry, and there were times when the anger was justified.
"Righteous anger", however, is always under control. It does not become a towering rage, and it does not burn inward to last for months or even years. "Let not the sun go down on your anger", the Bible advises. Worthwhile, uninhibited anger is not cruel and it passes in the span of a few minutes or hours.
But there are forms of anger that are bad from a religious point of view and also from a psychiatric point of view:
- Intense anger
- Long-lasting anger
- Uncontrolled anger
Anger, in itself, is not a special category in the book of psychiatric problems. Rather, it is a symptom of other problems. Constant anger, frequent displays of anger, "temper tantrums", inappropriate anger, and sudden shifts into an intensely angry mood, are all indications of serious emotional problems in an adult. Recurrent fights signal deep-seated problems.
A person who suffers from a borderline personality disorder, for example, exhibits extreme anger when he or she is at a crisis point. The immediate situation finds the sufferer argumentative, demanding, unpredictable, and destructive. But the real problem is a personality who is hovering at the borderline between normal problems and psychosis.
Abnormal anger can be a sign of many different problems. Psychiatric books link unusual anger with organic brain disorders, grief, antisocial personality disorder, and various antisocial behaviors. Treatments for the root problems are varied.
When anger is not a clinical psychiatric problem, a person simply can be directed to the Bible's admonition to live a quiet life - at peace with all men - as far as one is able. Relaxing, taking care of oneself physically, praying, meditating, bringing angry feelings out in the open, sharing problems with close friends, and staying in control of relationships are all ways to avoid long-term or intense anger problems.
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