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Life

13th Oct 2019

Being angry means you’re a more empathetic person, probably

Good news!

Jade Hayden

What’s the last thing that made you mad?

Was it the traffic on the way into work? Or that lad who never texted you back?

Maybe it was the realisation that all life is futile, nothing matters, and we should all just give up now?

Whatever it was, it seems that getting angry can actually have this weirdly positive effect on our lives – it can make us happier.

According to Dr Maya Tamir, the ability to feel all of the emotions that we want to feel is good for us… even if those emotions themselves aren’t particularly pleasant.

The doctor told the BBC that a recent study has shown that happiness is more complex than “simply feeling pleasure and avoiding pain.”

angry

Rather, being able to match your emotions to the feelings you desire to have can increase your happiness more so than if you cannot.

“Someone who feels no anger when reading about child abuse might think they should be angrier about the plight of abused children, so want to feel more anger than they actually do in that moment.”

Dr Tamir said that people are “better off” being able to feel these emotions, and that some people actually want to feel more anger and hatred than they already do.

The study showed that 11 percent of people wanted to feel less love and empathy, while 10 percent desired to feel less positive emotions like anger.

So what do you think? Are you happy being angry?

Or are you simply ragin’ about it, as always?