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Factors Contributing to Anger, Violence and Terrorism How Parents can Recognize the "Downward Spiral" of Anger to Violence and Terrorism (See Bottom of This Article) We are subjected daily to media's reports of attacks on embassies, terrorist bombings and the frantic attempts of nations to eliminate the effects and consequences of anger, violence and terrorism. What is even more frightening, is the naked truth that anger, violence and terrorism have spread and are not only contagious, but infectious. 50+ nations not only harbor cells of terrorists but permit their children and citizens to be indoctrinated in the belief system that anger is the key which will unlock the door to control. In short, they believe that anger is the fastest and only final solution to control, see the book "Bin Laden – The Man Who Declared War on America" by Yosef Bodansky. I. Anger physically kills in 2 ways 1. When we personally believe anger is a good means of control it kills us slowly. We may develop hypertension and/or a host of sicknesses which accompany it that ultimately will lead to our demise. 2. If we go about aggressively assaulting people verbally or physically in today's climate, there is a good possibility someone will shoot us. No one that I know drives the freeways in California with open windows shouting at or threatening other motorists – they understand that "freeway rage" can be, and often is, deadly II. Anger Kills Psychologically The fastest way to destroy a relationship between two parties is to immerse it in anger. No emotion destroys love and affection faster than anger. The results of no emotion is costlier to repair. Before we discuss the physiological aspects of anger, let me point out first that anger usually begins in our thought processes with the magical belief that anger is a wonderful and easy method of control. If this were truly the case, the Palestinian movement would be gaining grounds on the political front. (This is not to indicate that they do not have some just concerns) but here are the facts: The angrier you get, the more out of control you get and people who view the process conclude you are weak, not strong. Anger can operate at a magical level or a pathological level – It doesn't matter what level it operates at, people view those who operate under the belief that anger is a good means of control are – out of control.
Society ultimately deals with people who violate choice and use anger to control by putting them in jail, declaring them insane, or going to all out war to destroy the destroyers who operate under the myth that anger and might make right. In short, when anger is used as a method of control – society punishes it. In the case of the Columbine shooting, anger had moved from the magical level to the pathological level. There was, however, in the mind of the shooters, the belief that their violent acts would long be remembered and memorialized. Some current statistics regarding suicide "Nearly 3 million teenagers from 12 – 17 seriously considered suicide in 2000. More than 1/3 of these attempted to kill themselves. Girls were twice as likely as boys to think about suicide or attempt it and youth who used alcohol or illicit drugs were more likely to have suicidal thoughts." Released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Youth begin thinking about suicide 5 or more years before they attempt it. It began, in many cases, as a magical thought. It is a fact that nearly everyone has, at one time or the other, thought of suicide. It is also a fact that today's society is, in fact, experiencing more depression and anger and, in suicide attempts, the perpetrators are not only likely to self destruct, but destroy as many innocent victims as possible. This is not just magical thinking, it has moved to pathological anger. Viewed in this light, our world is, in fact, developing pathological anger at an alarming rate based partly on magical religious beliefs of great reward in the hereafter and/or immediate cash rewards in the here and now for family members. There is, of course, the reality that when hopelessness becomes hopeless, people view anger, violence, and terrorism as the only solution left - it is anger turned pathological. The fact is: Anger installs "blinders" that diminish our psychological vision and kills our awareness. Add to this the unrelenting presentation of the media of violence and terrorism and you create an angry, blindness among the citizens. This age calls for emotional intelligence from both leaders and citizens III. Physiological Factors Affecting Anger People are a combination of head and heart, cognitive and emotional responses. We develop in a manner, which demands that we attempt to bring into rationality, both our cognitive resources and our emotional responses. This, of course, accounts for surgeons, politicians, teachers, mechanics, and dishwashers, all of which are reputable people. The raw truth about life is that the development of every single individual is different and no single individual ever achieves the perfect integration of head and heart. If this were possible, anger, violence and terrorism could cease to exist. Our belief systems are faulty subject to magical thinking. The illogical and pathological end of which is delusion and violence either directed toward oneself or others or both. When I was a college student, I worked in a State Mental Institution in Massachusetts. The experience afforded an excellent learning opportunity. I recall a young man who had a promising career as a boxer. Unfortunately, in one of his matches, he had been knocked completely out and when he finally came to consciousness, he became uncontrollably violent and so much so that he had to be confined to the violent ward of the hospital. He was sedated daily and received numerous forms of shock therapy which were in vogue in the 1950's. He developed, however, a belief (delusional) which told him that his head and hands were harder than any walls, doors, or windows that the facility had to offer. His pet hobby, when out of seclusion, was to walk about the facility and break out non-breakable windows with his fists. This resulted in over 2000 stitches in his hands and arms. I remember looking up in horror one day to see him running down the long corridor full speed ahead and diving head first into a 3 inch thick solid core oak door – fulfilling his delusion that his head was harder than any door. You know the results – he split open his head, not the door. The Effect of our Imagination and Belief System in concert with our brain structure forms a powerful basis for action both in reality and in delusion IV. The Anatomy and Chemistry of Human Development Parents need to understand and carefully consider the development of their children and get medical care early for symptoms which indicate the downward spiral of beliefs into acts of anger,violence or law violations. The brain is a complicated organ. The very best surgeons and psychiatrists spend a lifetime studying its complications only to come away with a vast assay of questions. So this discussion will be as simple as it can be made to help parents understand what is going on in the development of their children. There are 4 or 5 structures that need to be understood to entertain how the brain develops and functions and integrates one into wholeness (both cognitively and emotionally).
The Amygdala are paired just above the brainstem, one on either side of the brain. It is the chief organ in charge of emotional matters and feeling. It is a data bank of emotional occurrences. Life is meaningless if the Amygdala become dysfunctional through trauma or surgery. A person without the aid of the Amygdala would have to navigate through life without the aid of the ability to evaluate emotional events. Imagine the excitement of a love life without understanding the meaning of emotion. Affection and passion are both housed in the Amygdala and if it does not function, there will be no joy, no sorrow, and no tears. Feelings are, according to some experts, the most primitive part of us. The Hippocampus has the duty of making sense of perceptual patterns. It helps us recognize people but the Amygdala permits us to feel whether we like them or not. The Thalamus sends signals to the Amygdala and Neo-cortex to make meaning out of information being received by our sensory perceptive organs (eyes, ears and nose). Most of the information is sent to the Neo-cortex (our rational part). However, some of the information arrives at our Amygdala before it reaches our Neo-cortex. It is possible that much modern music which concentrates largely on hard rock, heavy metal, with emphasis on loud beat (you feel the music) goes directly from our sensory organs through the Thalamus and is sent directly to the Amygdala. In this fashion, music can overwhelm the rational centers of our being (Neo-cortex) and in this manner, music can be used to bring into existence all sorts of moods and emotional states of being. Music can be used to stir up patriotism, or induce psychological warfare and confusion. Music therapy was used in the Roman world as well as in today's society. Despite the fact that the thalamus sends most of its signals to the Neo-cortex and Pre-frontal lobes, some stimuli goes directly to the Amygdala and can short circuit our rational functioning which can work either to our benefit or our deficit. (Music therapy could be beneficial, dissonant musical warfare could be detrimental). "LeRoux discovered that sound can go from the ear to the Thalamus to the Amygdala skipping all higher avenues and that some emotional reactions and memories can be formed without any conscious cognitive participation." Emotional Intelligence, pg. 18. Parents need to consider carefully the types of music that children are exposed to. Since music does not necessarily invoke our cognitive powers, music ought to be avoided which stimulates depression and anger. This is true especially in today's world where music is used to stimulate anger and violence and induce confusion. The Neo-cortex is the center of our rational process. Its duty is to make sense out of what is being received, process information, and send it to our pre-frontal lobes, our real platforms of planning and organizing actions to goals which includes emotional ones as well as intellectual ones. The Neo-cortex, then, is a computer board of circuitry that receives information, analyzes the data, and assigns it to either the left or right Pre-frontal lobe. The Pre-frontal lobes In the days of lobotomy parts of the pre-frontal lobes were removed. The left pre-frontal lobe controlled "distressing emotions." The task of the left pre-frontal lobe is to act like a "neural thermostat." Its duty is to regulate unpleasant emotion. The right pre-frontal lobe is the home of fear and aggression. The left lobe's duty is to keep these emotions in check. The left lobes shut off disturbing emotions from the Amygdala, thus the whole brain system must work in concert. V. The Brain is Multitasking Thus, like a giant computer, all parts of the brain must work together with many programs operating at the same time. The key to affective living is the functioning between the Amygdala and the Neo-cortex including the pre-frontal lobes. The Amygdala proposes "the pre-frontal lobe disposes." The connection between the emotional part of us (the Amygdala) and the Neo-cortex is where the "battles are fought and treaties struck" between "head and heart, thought and feeling." This is why emotion is crucial to wise decision making and clear thinking. In short, our affective nature is equally important as our cognitive nature. If our Amygdala and Lymbic system overwhelm our cognitive system (neo-cortex and pre-frontal lobes) we can be overwhelmed and sabotaged – emotional upset keeps us from thinking clearly. This is why emotional intelligence is so important. Decision-making is impaired if the emotional part of us is impaired (the pre-frontal – Amygdala circuit). We may be adequate in intelligence (IQ) but left in a world of fear, obsession, and anger and unable to make simple decisions. There must be a connection between the Amygdala and the neo-cortex and the pre-frontal lobes. It is this connection which is the heart of functioning of the human computer and the basis of our humanity. VI. Emotion is Crucial to Decision Making In short, our affective nature is equally as important as our cognitive nature and why emotions need to develop maturity. The ability to make sound decisions is impaired if our brain circuitry is not intact. Many highly intelligent people with high verbal and math scores are left in a world of hurt with fears, obsessions, angers, and unable to make the simplest decisions. Academic intelligence has extremely little to do with emotional life and people with high IQ frequently make wrecks of their life. "IQ contributes about 20% to the factors that determine life's success, which leaves 80% to other forces." Howard Gardner, Cracking Open the IQ Box. When judging intelligence and wholeness, here are some factors to consider. Emotional Intelligence includes:
Educators have debated for many years how much intelligence can be altered by education or experience. Here is a fact that all parents need to consider carefully. Emotional competencies can be learned and improved upon by children – if they are taught how! Our humanity is never determined by our IQ but becomes evident in our feelings. We have a lot of work in America to do – let's get busy! If anger, violence, or terrorism drives us to give up our freedoms, it is not because we lack intelligence but emotional maturity. For a thorough discussion of Emotional Intelligence, readers may wish to consider the book Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. It is a Best Seller and extremely accurate. Some of the material in the above article was gained from this source. How Parents can Recognize the "Downward Spiral" of Anger to Violence and Terrorism
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