In Chapter 1 of Chapters of My Childhood I actually experienced life without anger. I didn't see anger; I didn't feel anger. Was that the real minority in American families these days? In this hub I'm going to write about some angry people throughout my lifetime of 44 years (just a few examples) with the sole purpose of showing how mismanagement of anger breeds more anger. Anger problems are huge and are so destructive in our world.

Let's start at age two when I witnessed my Dad's angry outbursts. He and Grandpa Roger got in fist fights after I went to bed. Dad would beat me black and blue for seemingly trivial things. Mom threw my little sister across the dining room in one of her many anger tantrums.

Next, let's go to age six when I told my foster Mom what my foster Dad did to me in the bathroom at bath time. She got angry at the situation and slapped me!

At age seven when I got to my third foster home, I not only was a fearful child, but I know that fear turned to anger in that family, causing some very unhealthy behaviors, like running away from home. The anger I witnessed in that environment sparked a deep intolerance of angry outbursts in my soul.

It's no wonder I got married at 18 years old. I found that as we had children, I exhibited anger in some of the same ways toward my own children. I went to counseling to get HELP. Threfore, I handled things much better when my son used a rock to scratch a tic-tac-toe into the door of our brand new mini-van :-/. I knew children were much more important than any material thing!

My husband and I divorced when I was 30. I got involved with a new man. I ended up to be his fourth wife. I had never experienced such anger from anyone in my life! Maybe he was bi-polar or something, but at the slightest change in circumstances, he would grab me by the hair and throw me into the walls. He would lecture me for hours and even choked me to passing out at one time. What did the police do? Tell him to cool off and let me leave the house for awhile. I bravely got out of that marriage with God's help.

So, I worked hard to provide for our child, who was just a baby at the time. However, in my hub "When Setting Boundaries Gets You Fired", you will see that even the workplace can trigger anger and intolerance. Even in dating, both partners bring in the anger from past relationships, causing more intolerance and destructive behaviors.

That leads me to one last point. What are the easier methods to managing anger? People use drugs (legal or illegal), alcohol or other vices to avoid or control anger. Depression is categorized as "anger turned inward". People who are highly depressed sometimes escape in worse ways than running away or divorce; they can even commit suicide. Sometimes, these "vices" are a prominent cause of angry outbursts! As soon as one is withdrawing from a substance, BOOM!

We must accept that anger is a God-given emotion. The Bible shows anger in a righteous sense when Jesus got angry about money changers in the temple. He overturned all the vendor tables in rage. Anger in itself is not a sin, but the Bible does state, "Be angry and SIN NOT". Galatians 5:22-23 state, "The fruit of the Spirit is...self control."

Anger is a real issue. Anger breeds anger! I have to believe that people who cannot control their anger have been exposed to years of years of someone else's angry outbursts. There is help out there: anger management courses, counseling, and simply avoiding people and issues that bring about wrath. We must turn to God to heal our anger and pray for angry people. If anything, we should be compassionate toward them, because we suffer in the same way! God bless you!