When people are unwilling or unable to feel their own emotional pain, they often transform it into actions that cause pain to others. This applies to individuals lashing out and leaders giving their followers someone to hate.
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Society often expects men to solve their own problems, leaving displays of sadness or vulnerability unanswered. The brain then performs an "inner alchemy," transmuting this despair into anger—a more motivating emotion for action. When working with angry men, the underlying issue is often unaddressed sadness.
Society hasn't processed the collective trauma of events like the pandemic, leading to widespread emotional dysregulation that prevents clear thinking. To move forward, groups must first feel and acknowledge the fear and grief, rather than just intellectualizing the problems.
In a study where people could self-stimulate emotions, they chose anger. This suggests anger is not just a reaction but a preferred state because it replaces fear and uncertainty with a clear sense of righteousness and a simple path to action, even if destructive.
This psychological mechanism flips a switch, intensifying love for one's in-group while enabling murderous hatred for an out-group. It recasts political rivals as existential threats, making violence seem not just acceptable, but morally necessary for the group's survival.
This concept describes a psychological state where empathy is completely withdrawn from an "out-group." This allows individuals to justify and even celebrate violence against perceived enemies, seeing it not as murder but as a necessary and righteous act in service of their in-group.
From a young age, men are taught to see vulnerability as weakness. When faced with fear, a common coping mechanism is to transmute that emotion into rage, which is seen as a more acceptable expression of male strength.
Anger is the emotion people are most likely to self-stimulate because it provides a potent neurological shortcut. It replaces anxiety and uncertainty with a feeling of clarity, energy, and focus, making it a tempting but dangerous short-term solution to complex problems.
A brain study revealed people prefer anger over joy or love. Anger is neurologically rewarding because it offers a simple, powerful feeling of being right and morally superior, making it a potent tool for political mobilization and a driver of tribalism.
The instinct to take on a loved one's negative emotions is counterproductive. It robs you of the bandwidth to offer effective support and can cause them to shut down, feeling their pain is now hurting you. True empathy requires emotional separation.
Following Freud's observation, depression can be anger directed at oneself. This psychological defense mechanism occurs when expressing anger toward external figures (like abusers or authority) is too risky. The brain chooses despair and inaction as a safer alternative, leading to depressive symptoms.