Fr Jim Cogley
The most common response to anger is denial. We fail to acknowledge that we feel this emotion and so we swim in de-Nile. Closely related to this is where we minimize it by diluting how we really feel to make it sound more presentable., like feeling annoyed. Repressing our anger is to stuff it away into our unconscious. Whatever is repressed always seeks expression and so one day something small triggers an avalanche and we are shocked at how aggressive a normally passive person can become. This is where we explode, but we can also implode. Too much denial of our anger can lead to self-harm and also give rise to depression. Buried anger is generally recognized as its main cause. Another common response is to displace it. This is where we are afraid to confront the one we are angry with and take it out on some innocent party or even an animal. Yet another common response is to anaesthetize it by taking drugs or alcohol. It goes without saying that none of the above, even though they are so commonly practiced, ever work, and all only serve to make matters worse.