It would seem that we're getting angrier - but is it the one mental health problem we ignore?, asks Ciarán Brennan.
THE HUMBLE phone could be classified as a dangerous weapon in the hands of a celebrity: supermodel Naomi Campbell did community service for hitting a maid with her mobile, while actor Russell Crowe was involved in a phone-throwing incident in a hotel in New York three years ago.
There may be a certain narcissistic element to stars losing their cool, but it seems that it's not just celebrities throwing tantrums these days - air rage, road rage and phone rage appear to be more common in everyday life. It seems that hospital staff, teachers, taxi drivers and gardaí face regular abuse, threats and even assault.
"I am often asked are Irish people getting angrier, but I do not believe this to be the case," says Bernard Henry of the Irish Association of Anger Management (IAAM).
"It may feel this way because anger is documented now more than ever before. What is important to remember is that anger is a fundamental part of being human. It is part of who we are and I think modern society is more aware of it due to many factors, particularly the dawn of new ways of communicating through the internet - bad news travels fast, and of course the inappropriate expression of anger makes headline news."
However, Henry says the increased pressure of their busy, demanding everyday lives may be taking their toll on people's tempers.
"A final thing that I think is important when looking at this is the change in our value systems which I believe has created increased stress, which is a major trigger for anger and unrealistic expectations, of ourselves and others, which I believe contributes to unhealthy expressions of anger," he says.
And the failure to balance the demands of modern living, with the emphasis on success, money and material possessions, is bubbling to the surface in expressions of anger, rage and frustration, according to Dr Shane Murnaghan, a Chinese medical practitioner.
"Realistically, you have a situation where a person is stressed, trying to manage too many things and something is about to topple and they reach desperately for it and they reach psychologically, they reach verbally, and they reach physiologically which often turns into chaotic management of the mouth, the head and the body," he says.
Naomi Campbell's phone- flinging incident and her more recent altercation at Heathrow Airport are more typical of how men express their anger.
"Basically men are more likely to behave badly, become violent and shout, while women are likely to internalise," explains Dr Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the UK's Mental Health Foundation. "Men, if they turn their anger against themselves, are more likely to commit suicide. Women self-harm more often but commit suicide less, so it is complicated. There are big gender differences. The essential anger is the same but the testosterone and the social framework is different for men."
There are usually two ways that most of us deal with our anger, either to implode or explode. Exploders move from anger into rage quickly, while imploders tend to bottle their feelings and let it simmer, which over time will eventually make their way to the surface.
Both can have a detrimental impact on people's health and can have more far-reaching consequences than any spur-of-the-moment actions they unleash. Long-term and intense anger has been linked with mental health problems including depression, anxiety and self-harm. It is also linked to poorer overall physical health as well as particular conditions from high blood pressure, colds and flu to coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer and gastro-intestinal problems.
Problem anger goes largely untackled unless someone commits an aggressive criminal act, when a court may refer them to anger management training, according to Britain's Mental Health Foundation. The charity says we are intervening too late and could save lives from being damaged if we tackled it earlier.
"In a society where people can get help for depression and anxiety, panic, phobia, eating disorders and a range of other psychological and emotional problems, it seems extraordinary that we are left to fend for ourselves when it comes to an emotion as powerful as anger. We need to be able to recognise when anger is damaging our lives, ask for help and receive it," says the foundation's McCulloch.
The report says that problem anger is not a mental illness in itself but many of the everyday tools used in mental health - such as talking therapies - can be applied to help people cope better with anger. But the area has been neglected by researchers, clinicians and policy makers. However, with many healthcare systems requiring a diagnostic label before a condition can be treated, it means problem anger is either ignored or pigeon-holed as a mental health problem, leaving people reluctant to seek help.
"You have to have an individually-based solution so if people feel anger is causing them a real problem they need to be able to go and see a counsellor or a psychologist without getting a label," says McCulloch.