Many strong and out-of-control emotions are recognized as an illness. People who are always very sad have depression(抑郁症); those who worry a lot have anxiety.
But what about anger problems ? Anger is largely viewed as a secondary emotion—one caused by other emotions. People are thought to angry because they are sad, anxious or stressed. In the past, many doctors didn’t accept the idea that anger could be a problem all on its own.
Today, though, a growing number of mental health experts think that anger is a serious problem that needs its own treatment.
How to tell the difference between “normal” anger and “anger problem” is difficult. After all, everyone gets really mad from time to time. Experts point out a few ways.
Disordered anger, as it is something called, tends to be of greater intensity(强度). It takes very little to set off a person with an anger problem, and their responses(反应) are very strong. An example: While most people would get upset if a driver cut them off, someone with disordered anger might try to chase down the car and force it off the road.
And in case of disordered anger, the person gets angry more frequently
and his/her anger last longer. For most people, angry feelings disappear quickly. But people with anger problems often stay angry for days, weeks or even years: their feeling of angry don’t disappear over time.
Consequences are also important to consider: Disordered anger often damages people’s lives. “It interferes(干扰) with people’s relationships and their jobs,” says Raymond Chip Tafrate, a US psychologist. “Even their health is affected.”
Anger clearly increases the risk of certain health problems, as many studies have shown. “When a person is angry, their heart beats faster and their blood pressure goes up,” says Howard