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Talent Development Resources...........anger: page 2
| Writing
is my chief coping mechanism. In a way, I'm just killing time, trying to
distract myself. I like writing active stuff and anger is such an active
emotion. Without it, there's depression.
We have a real inability in this society to live side by side with our anger. That's why it explodes in places like Columbine. We need bursts of chaos. We need to be able to hurt each other in a consensual way. Chuck Palahniuk***[LA
Times Oct 6 2002] ... |
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| Like
many of us, Laura would lose her temper to no good end. Pushed to her limit,
she made threats she couldn't uphold and lost the respect of those who'd
offended her. ...
I explained to Laura that anger might be cause for reflection, not for immediate action -- that she could learn to tolerate her feelings long enough to learn from them. ... Anger is a sign that something needs to change. ... Learning to use anger is no easy task. Yet the alternative -- letting anger use us -- makes us prisoners of our own minds. Anger is not the enemy, and we're not helpless in the face of it. It is only an energy -- one that, with practice, we can harness for our good. ** **Mark Epstein****[O, The Oprah Magazine, Oct. 2002]
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| Pollock..
began drinking by age nine, and developed a violent temper. ... worked
with several different psychotherapists.. but he never overcame that most
devious of demons: alcoholism. Nor did he ever come to conscious terms
with the real roots of his rage.
"In reminiscences by Pollock's acquaintances," writes artist and art therapist Evelyn Virshup, "they said he would react with rage when he couldn't do well, when he couldn't control people... People remembered him ripping headlights off parked cars, punching his fist through panes of glass, crushing a drinking glass in his hand, and breaking down doors."
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*related page:**the shadow self
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| I
think anger is the best propeller for any kind of action, it really gets
you moving. It's a good thing. A healthy thing.
But I also think a lot of people -- like some songwriters I interact with -- get really caught in the trap of feeling like if they're not sad, or their heart's not aching, or they haven't just gone through a major breakup, or they're not mad or angry about something, they can't write in an inspired way. I just feel like any creative process is, like that old saying, 99% perspiration, 1% inspiration. I really believe that it's the little gems you write on a day you don't feel very inspired that are much more appealing or a success, rather than pouring your heart out when you're down and out. That's the easy time; we can all do that. actor, singer/songwriter Melora Hardin - from interview |
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[On
one occasion.. an actor showed up hungover and unable to remember his lines.]
And Sean just flipped out and treated him mercilessly. It took a lot of talking and discussing with her: 'We've got to work with him; let's make this work.' And he understood very quickly that she was psyching him out constantly, and from his second day of work, he was there, and perfect every day, too. So she kind of forced him to get his act together. "Shadow of the Cobra" director
Ted Nicolaou -- about Sean Young's commitment to the excellence of the
film*
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Rage is in the middle of the word outrageous. Rage occurs when we are frustrated, ignored, hurt,
trivialized, denied needed resources, insulted, treated as second-class individuals, and in other ways
injured. In our society, women are often discriminated against when they age.This can be as major and open as not being hired or as subtle as being treated as though we are invisible
in society and perfunctorily at social gatherings.When we brood about this and take no action, our rage or anger often turns inward, eventually
developing into depression or passivity. However, we can move beyond rage by being outrageous
older women, refusing to accept the stereotypes or slights.
**from book: Be an Outrageous Older Woman by Ruth Harriet Jacobs, Ph. D.
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| Writing
this book totally changed my life. Through listening to all these girls
talk about their fear of conflict and the way they hid their own anger,
I realized how much I was doing the same thing, and I felt that it would
be harder and harder for me to continue to repress my anger.
So it really changed the way I conducted myself with my own friends, and it made me really come into contact with my own repression and my own need to be a "good girl." Rachel Simmons ... [seattleweekly.com May 9 - 15, 2002]
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Being chosen to star in "Degas and the Dancer" at the age of twelve was a special honour for Alison Pill. Her particular dancing and character skills would bring Degas' famous ballet dancers to life. ... "The part of Marie let me dance and have an emotional role at the same time," says Alison. "I could bring my past experiences (of anger) to the fights with Degas - tears and fire at the same time."*
**[from devine-ent.com profile]~ ~ ~ ~
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The destructive effects of hatred are very visible, very obvious and immediate. For example, when a very strong or forceful thought of hatred arises within you, at that very instant, it totally overwhelms you and destroys your peace of mind; your presence of mind disappears completely. When such intense anger and hatred arises, it obliterates the best part of your brain, which is the ability to judge between right and wrong, and the long-term and short-term consequences of your actions. Your power of judgment becomes totally inoperable, it can no longer function. It is almost like you've become insane. The Dalai Lama
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And
it is this pandemic, subterranean anger or rage which underlies not only
the bulk of hostile, hateful, violent behaviors, but most serious mental
disorders in general, including some of the psychoses.
It is no mere coincidence that what we scientifically term "psychosis" is colloquially called "madness." from article: "Violence as
Secular Evil: Forensic Evaluation
image: Brad Pitt in "12 Monkeys" |
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Dan [Daniel Clowes] did most of the art class scenes, venting his anger. Teachers used to look down at his work. ... It was very therapeutic, actually, to make the film. Getting this out of my system has actually made me less angry as a person. Terry Zwigoff - about "Ghost World" [Variety, Jan. 14, 2002]
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Lela Lee makes anger an ongoing theme for her strip, and at times, she finds it in her daily life. "I don't like being angry," she says. "I prefer being happy. But I found I have to think about what makes me angry, really get to the root of what's going on, and then once I look at the truth, it doesn't really have that emotional power. "And my art is a way to get to that truth." ****from interview with cartoonist / filmmaker Lela Lee
The shadow acts like a psychic immune system, defining what is self and what is not-self. For different people, in different families and cultures, what falls into [self] and what falls into shadow can vary. For instance, some permit anger or aggression to be expressed; most do not. Connie Zweig - from her book "Meeting the Shadow.." / quotes from article Ego and Creativity
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Acting
let me discover a new world, the world of expressed feelings. This was
not part of my upbringing. I sometimes wonder who I would have been if
I hadn't found myself in the chorus of "Oklahoma!" when I was a sophomore
in high school. Not that acting is a psychological remedy for an emotionally
underdeveloped person.
But without its insistence on imagining, and expressing the human experience in all its variations, I fear I would have become such an angry person. Who knows where all that anger would have come out? Diane Keaton- from article: Diane Keaton: Learning to Trust Actions, Not Words |
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Sir Anthony Hopkins.. [in his youth] was dyslexic and hated rugby, and so was treated as an outcast in his native land - but he claims the treatment from his peers gave him just what he needed to become a movie star. He says, "It gave me the fire and anger to become an actor. I wasn't afraid of anything. The acting covered up the loneliness."*****[imdb.com Celeb. News Jan. 30 2001]
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**Anger:
Wisdom for Cooling the Flames - by
Thich Nhat Hanh From Publishers Weekly review: There is plenty in this small volume worth skipping, such as Hanh's tedious call for "Healing the Wounded Child Within." And some of his advice is banal (e.g., if a husband is angry at his wife, he should tell her). But some of Hanh's suggestions cut refreshingly against the grain. He dissents, for example, from the popular therapeutic wisdom to "express our anger": when we beat a pillow to get rid of our feelings, he insists we are merely "rehearsing" our anger, not "reducing" it. Hanh reminds us that anger begins and ends with ourselves we may feel that we are mad at our wife or son, but really we are the direct objects of our rage. Hanh doesn't limit his task to discussing anger between families and friends; he also deals with anger among countries and between citizens and governments. That expansive vision is not surprising (Hanh, after all, is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee) but it is refreshing, lifting this book out of the self-absorbed self-help pile. Like Hanh's other books, this is not weighed down with Buddhist terminology. The appendices, which contain meditations designed to help release anger, give it the specifically Buddhist spice that some readers will appreciate. The meat of the book, however, will be accessible to a broad, ecumenical audience. |
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*articles:**
Anger across the gender divide - by Melissa Dittmann [APA Monitor]
Deborah L. Cox et al. The Anger Advantage: The Surprising Benefits of Anger and How It Can Change Your Life
Stephen A. Diamond, PhD. *Anger, Madness,and the Daimonic: The Psychological Genesis of Violence, Evil, and Creativity
Albert Ellis. Anger
Jon Elster. Strong Feelings: Emotion, Addiction, and Human Behavior
"Emotion and addiction lie on a continuum between simple visceral drives such as hunger, thirst, and sexual desire at one end and calm, rational decision making at the other. Although emotion and addiction involve visceral motivation, they are also closely linked to cognition and culture..." --Simon Blackburn, Times Literary SupplementMark Epstein, M.D. Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart: A Buddhist Perspective on Wholeness
Kathleen Fischer. Transforming Fire: Women Using Anger Creatively
John Gedo The Artist and the Emotional: Creativity and Personality
"Articulates the role of personality in creative pursuits, defining personality a set of enduring qualities that effect such behavior as a general preference for autonomous or interdependent activity. Examines the psychology of creativity, the challenge and opportunity of developing a creative gift, the struggles of a creative life, and the fit between talent and opportunity. Illustrates the principles with case studies .."Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence
"One source of a positive or negative outlook may well be inborn temperament...Developing a competency of any kind strengthens the sense of self-efficacy; making a person more willing to take risks and seek out more demanding challenges. And surmounting those challenges in turn increases the sense of self-efficacy. This attitude makes people more likely to make the best use of whatever skills they may have -- or to do what it takes to develop them."Daniel Goleman Working With Emotional Intelligence
Harriet Lerner. The Dance of Anger
Mary Rocamora. The Personal Journey Workbook: A Guide to an Extraordinary Life
"This new self-paced workbook, based on the coursework of the Rocamora School, is a carefully designed exploration of awareness and beliefs using accessible, non-dogmatic information and precisely crafted sequences of inductive exercises... The best attitude to have or to cultivate for this work is one of curiosity, interest, and fascination. Set aside labels ('neurotic', 'co-dependent', 'inadequate', etc.), judgments, theories, archetypes, beliefs and meditation practices. The Personal Journey is to be explored with a fresh mind that is completely present, to seek a precise description of your own inner -- and unique -- experience."Sandra Walker Russ Affect, Creative Experience, and Psychological Adjustment
Contents: chapters: On the Relationship Between Affect and Creative Problem Solving; Mood and Creativity Research: The View from a Conceptual Organizing Perspective; The Emotional Resonance Model of Creativity: Theoretical and Practical Extensions; Play, Affect, and Creativity: Theory and Research, etc.Melvin Shaw. Creativity and Affect
Rachel Simmons. Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls
Carol Tavris. Anger : The Misunderstood Emotion
[excerpt:] It is instructive, if also comical, that two popular embodiments of anger in America are antithetical types -- Superman and the Incredible Hulk. Clark Kent never really gets angry at injustice, merely impatient: "Oh, gosh, I'd better save the city again." Then he chooses to jump into his flying suit and charge off to right wrong. When David Banner gets angry, he becomes, uncontrollably, a giant green id, a bilious beast. He is not a man at all, super or otherwise. These incarnations of anger represent dual attitudes: is anger handsome or ugly, righteous or dangerous? Is it under our control, or do we have as much chance of telling it what to do as of regulating the carotid artery?Sandra P. Thomas, PhD. Women and Anger
Connie Zweig, Steve Wolf. Romancing the Shadow: Illuminating the Dark Side of the Soul
"Beneath the social mask we wear every day, we have a hidden shadow side: an impulsive, wounded, sad, or isolated part that we generally try to ignore, but which can erupt in hurtful ways. As therapists Connie Zweig and Steve Wolf show in this landmark book, the shadow can actually be a source of emotional richness and vitality, and acknowledging it can be a pathway to healing and an authentic life."Gary Zukav, Linda Francis. The Heart of the Soul : Emotional Awareness
"Although developing emotional awareness is challenging and difficult because it requires becoming aware of our buried emotional pain, it is also enormously rewarding. The [book] shows us how to free ourselves from our compulsions, fixations, obsessions, and addictions -- such as anger, workaholism, perfectionism, obsessive eating, alcohol and drug abuse, and sexual addiction -- that prevent us from living a fulfilling and meaningful life. It also provides the reader with the necessary tools to replace the desire to avoid painful emotions with the desire to explore every aspect of consciousness, and to cultivate the parts of ourselves that contribute the most to Life. [Amazon.com review]~ ~ ~
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emotion..........emotion:: page 2.............fear..........shame..........courage.............intensity / sensitivity
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