Anger

In this section:

• Trauma
• Anger
• Low income and poverty

Understand Me

When we think about emotions that may build to the point of presenting a risk for depression, and about how depression may be expressed in emotional terms, what often comes to mind is sadness, fear and anxiety. An emotion that may not come to mind, but is important to highlight in relation to depression, is anger. The link between anger and depression emerged only cursorily through the VALIDITY project; however, new Canadian information from researcher Cheryl van Daalen about young women's relationships with anger has recently shown that anger plays a role in depression. During research with 65 diverse young women, van Daalen gathered powerful information about the many ways young women's unexpressed anger leads to erosion of her self-esteem and, ultimately, to depression. Further, even if the anger is expressed, it is often dismissed, judged or ignored, leaving a young woman open to isolation and criticism from others. Faced with a "no-win" situation, young women often opt for self-silencing as a way to maintain relationships. Emotions are messages that provide us with important information about what is going on around and within us. Anger is a strong mobilizer and a powerful agent in self-definition. However, none of the young women in van Daalen's study expressed ever having been asked about their lived experience with anger and, more notably, had never had their anger and its related story affirmed and normalized; this is not surprising given that girls and young women are socialized not to express anger.

We need to let young women know that it is okay to express their anger and to talk about it with us - and, beyond that, that expressed anger moves us toward better mental health and positive quality of life. But before we can let them know that anger is okay, we need to ask young women about anger.

Support Me

Young women need their anger affirmed and embraced, rather than pathologized or managed. The door to discussing anger, its origins, how it can be expressed and why it needs to be expressed should be left open in interactions with girls and young women. Exploring anger in an affirming way is a powerful intervention in itself, one that should start within ourselves. Van Daalen's article "Living as a chameleon: A feminist analysis of young women's lived experience of anger" provides valuable insights into the anger story as told by young women.

For more information, please contact:

Cheryl van Daalen, RN, PhD
Special Advisor, Canadian Association for the Rights of Children
Professor, York University School of Nursing
4700 Keele Street, North York, Ontario M3J 1P3
Tel.: 416 736-2100 ext. 66691
E-mail: cvandaal@yorku.ca

Other helpful resources include:

Brown, L.M. (1998). Raising Their Voices: The Politics of Girls' Anger. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.