The Mentalverse Ep.6 The Angry Raging Road

RAGE VS ANGER

Both are defined as emotional outbursts.

Anger is a feeling of being annoyed and irritated towards something or someone. It is more of a common and calmer emotion than rage. Thus, it’s easier to control with many benefits to be had from controlling that emotion and energy.

Rage however is a violent state of mind caused by a variety of displeasing situations, circumstances or emotions making the person a victim to an extremely hostile verbal and/ or physical behaviour. In such a state many people become uncontrollable, capable of displaying certain qualities they usually do not display under normal situations such as an intimidating tone or even physical strength beyond their limits.

RAGE, MOMENTS THROUGH HISTORY

In the ancient world many saw rage as a form of strength and power. One of those cultures are the Vikings who used rage mostly in combat. Such people are known as berserkers who used their wild uncontrollable ferocity to dominate the battlefield.

The effects of rage truly are a boon in combat with high adrenalin causing a boost in both physical strength and endurance while numbing the feeling of pain.

In many other cultures, rage was used to dominate a debate by going in a verbal fury which causes their opponent to become intimidated and in turn ruin their train of thought.

As time progressed such behaviour was no longer looked at favourably by society and in many situations completely rejected especially in sports.

MEDICAL SITUATIONS RAGE VS ANGER

Rage is basically a deal with the devil while you gain increased strength, a boost in your stamina, and an increase in focus and adrenaline. The negatives however are heavy for a person's wellbeing with headaches, insomnia, increased anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and not to mention the harm it does to someone’s social life in all its forms.

So, we have to ask, is this a fair trade?

ANGER, A POSITIVE?

It’s so easy to pinpoint the negatives because anger does have a bad reputation in comparison to positive emotions. Yet there are still some positives to it such as:

• Activating the survival attribute which is a fight or flight response especially when confronted by a stronger adversary.

• Discharging all the negative physical and emotional stress, helping us adapt to a variety of difficult situations by getting rid of tension and feeling calm afterwards if properly channeled.

• Providing a sense of control over a situation through the burst of energy we get instead of suppressing the emotion and feeling helpless.

• Aiding in self-improvement through insight on the cause of anger after the emotion fades. Thereby, improving social interactions and managing frustration.

• Motivating us by identifying that we are angry from our shortcomings and creating room for improvement.

• Creating cooperation against injustice and unfairness and rallying people to a cause.

BECOMING A BETTER ANGRY GAMER

Every gamer out there knows that video games will make us angry one way or another so there are bound to be techniques to control that urge of anger.

One of the ways is identifying when you are angry and listening to your body. This could be when your start feeling tense, get headaches, stomach aches, if your heart is racing or you are feeling dizzy. If you are feeling that then it’s time to flee you fool (thanks Gandalf!) and leave the game.

Back off and take a break for your own physical and mental health. Doing something else will help take your mind off it such as going outdoors, taking a walk around the house or outside, reading, meditating, breathing deeply for a few minutes, even scrolling through funny videos for a few minutes to disconnect from that negative space will help.

ANGER AND RAGE IN ESPORTS

In the world of esports, an outburst of rage is such a massive negative that players and coaches train to avoid displaying it.

It's OK to be angry and knowing that you have power over the situation brings a sense of control. It is important to not let it reach that level of rage. Although it rarely happens, it creates a negative atmosphere for the team and puts players up for criticism if done repeatedly. Especially that anger and rage make us less sociable and communicative with their team and creates tunnel vision leading to less chances of success since esports rely on communication and strategy implementation.

A huge positive in that situation would be speaking up about improving our reaction. It will create more trust and understanding in the team especially when the behaviour is corrected with fewer offenses.

LET'S WRAP THIS UP

In the end we are humans, and we must accept the fact that within us there is a whirlwind of emotions ranging from good to bad. Accepting them is the key after all. No one is perfect even on a competitive stage like esports but knowing ourselves and identifying how we react to anger, and frustration allows us to improve by knowing what needs to be done to be better people and a better teammates.