Freedom from Aggression

Step One

Anger can, of course, underpin aggression and violence.

 

This “stress force” can give us an exaggerated view of how “failed” we are, or of how “bad” or “good” someone or something else is (as can worsen depression, or outward aggression, respectively).

 

What can make all of this extra tricky to deal with is stress’s ability to operate unconsciously.

 

Step Two

Where stress strikes, pride and shame are not far behind. Thus, pride can help sustain any antisocial aggressivity that’s got into us - because pride can make us struggle to own up to our problems. Pride can close our eyes to our own, unflattering reality (one that can be obvious to others long before it is to us).

 

Step Three

Taking ownership of ourselves can be crucial when it comes to any stress-aggravated condition. This is not in order to “wear the blame” or drown in shame. To the contrary, it is to make a calm appraisal of our situation, and to see our emotional distress as stemming not really from us - as in the real us - but from our biology and stress. Adopting this perspective can help to take some of the heat out of our suffering, and can open the door to a potential recovery.

 

Any stress-related state that we suffer from is no reflection on who we really are. So let’s not freeze through fear, or put ourselves under so much pressure that we give up or seize.

 

Step Four

Having set the scene like this, we can try to tune into our heart, and practise a few tried-and-tested remedies; not least contentment (as a brake on pride and havoc-making anger ); and calm (for dampening anger down).