Anger: A Misunderstood Emotion in the Indian Society

 Anger is an emotion that is expressed as a result of frustration of needs, goals or the feeling of being wronged by someone or something. 

Anger is a misunderstood emotion in India. Most people are not able to understand that anger, like happiness, is an emotion. More often than not, our society teaches us to take offence when someone expresses their anger. In my work as a school psychologist, I often observed that when a student expressed their anger towards a teacher, s/he was labelled as being disrespectful to elders. Soon enough, every teacher in the school would assume that the student is aggressive and to not allow him/her to express any opinions in the classroom. Knowingly or unknowingly, the teachers have developed an impression of this student based on one solitary experience and generalized it to an extent that 'being disrespectful' has become all that the child represents for them. 

We as a society need to learn how to detach anger from disrespect. Anger is an emotion expressed when someone is hurt. If we are not giving our children the space to express their anger, they will soon learn to repress it. If repressing of emotions becomes a pattern it might show up in the form of frequent uncontrollable outbursts of emotions sometime in the future. Children not only learn how to react in a certain manner through role modelling of adults but also learn the expected reactions to certain emotions. Ultimately, we are raising more intolerant individuals.

Expressing Anger ≠ disrespect.

Emotions, whether they make us sad, angry, fearful or happy are important to experience. Emotions are what makes us human beings. We need to help people learn how to express different emotions. When we feel happy, we want to share the thing that made us happy with everyone. If anger makes you want to punch, push, argue with the person or thing that made you angry - think about how it would help you? Emotions have a tendency of engulfing you just like ocean waves. When we experience emotions at a stronger intensity, they can have unpredictable consequences. In order to have a richer emotional experience, we need to understand what each emotion makes us feel and what are our usual patterns of reaction. To enable this learning every school in India should include lessons on socio-emotional learning and raise more self-aware individuals. Understanding the origin of a particular behaviour and learning to appreciate beauty emotions is essential for our own well-being.

Mental Health Professionals in India

Mental health concerns are on the rise as the pandemic hits the world. In such unprecedented times, it becomes important to understand the kind of mental health services available in India and how to access them.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay 

Navigating the right resources for mental health can be difficult amidst stigma, misinformation aboutthese services in India. Let's understand which professional will benefit you using an example -

Amrita is a 23-year-old girl. She has a degree in economics and a well to do the job in the field. After the lockdown was imposed, she like everyone else adapted to working from home. Soon after she lost her job as her company could no longer afford to pay her. She was devasted but determined to find a new job to support herself. Due to changed circumstances, she could not go out to meet her friends and family. She felt lonely. Whenever she opened LinkedIn, she saw all her batchmates posting about their flourishing job roles and going on Instagram and seeing friends living with their family made her feel worse. Soon she started feeling as if it was her fault that she lost the job. She felt as if she is incapable of doing anything and stopped applying for jobs. She didn't feel like eating and her sleep cycle was disturbed as well. She cut off from most of her friends & felt hopeless about the future.

[Name & details mentioned in the above case study are fictional and only for educational purposes]

Now let's see how different mental health professionals will approach her problems - 

Psychologist

Psychologists are trained to provide a safe, judgement-free, confidential environment for the client to express their feelings. Once the client has expressed their concerns the psychologist will attempt to understand the reasons why the client is experiencing blocks in their functioning through their specific psychological orientation. The origins of Amrita's feelings like loneliness will be traced through a joint effort by both client and the psychologist. For instance- Maybe Amrita is feeling lonely because of the lockdown and a lack of social contact, maybe she feels a need to compare herself to her peers because her mother always used compare Amrita to her peers, she has only learnt to appreciate her success by measuring them to her peer's successes. These hypotheses will be tested out with the client and a range of empirically researched techniques will be used by the psychologist to help out Amrita. Validating her feelings, understanding the roots of her need for comparison, establishing a routine which incorporates regular video calls with her family members are some of the primary techniques which may be used to improve her mood. 

All psychologists have a Masters degree in Psychology in India as a minimum criterion for practice. A psychologist typically spends 50 mins per week with the client understanding their history, behaviours, emotions, thought process and use research-based scientific methods to improve the functioning of their client.

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist will also provide a safe space to Amrita to express her self. An attempt will be made to understand the problems being faced by her and try to gauge whether these fit into the criteria of a particular disorder. A detailed past history of current symptoms and a family history of both psychiatric and medical illnesses would be taken in order to arrive at a provisional (temporary) diagnosis. Based on the diagnosis & a medical history of the client, medication will be provided by the doctor. Psychiatric medication impacts the neurochemical levels of the brain. In the case presented above, if the Psychiatrist comes to the conclusion that Amrita is going through an episode of depression, they might prescribe her with Anti-depressants. From a psychopharmacological perspective, one reason for depression is low levels of Serotonin Neurotransmitter. Anti-Depressants will impact the levels of serotonin in her brain thereby improving her overall functioning. 

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor with an MBBS and a Post Graduate degree in psychiatry. A psychiatrist typically spends around 10-20 mins with their client and meet them bi-weekly/ monthly to check the progress. 

Who should you go to?

An ideal setup would be where a Psychiatrist & Psychologist are working together for the client. However, after the initial intake session, a Psychologist and a Psychiatrist would most likely guide you towards a suitable health care provider. In some circumstances, the client will benefit from psychological services alone and would not need medications but in other cases (for example in disorders like schizophrenia) a regular course of medication is required before a psychological intervention. Enhancing your mental health is a long process. Recovery is never linear. Some medications/ therapeutic interventions will suit you some may not. 

If you still feel confused, ask your Mental Health Professional about their opinion for a suitable course of treatment. Don't hesitate in asking them about their qualification and experience in the field. 

Mental health concerns take time to understand and treat. Please don't lose hope!

Mental Health is as Important as Physical Health

Take the first step!

Disclaimer: The case presented above has only been developed for this topic. The intention of sharing this blog is purely for creating awareness. If you are experiencing any kind of distress, please contact your health care provider.