Unexpressed Anger and Depression

As could be seen from the previous post, I was not in a good mood a couple of days ago. Several hours after the post, my condition deteriorated from meloncholy into deep depression and anger. I thought I had started a downward spiral and that psychosis would follow soon. But it didn't. The source of the unhappiness was unxpressed anger. I talked about the reason for my anger to the person concerned, although I'm afraid somewhat cruelly, and the depression stopped. Not only that, I learned some things, too.

One of the things I learned was why unexpressed anger leads to depression. The standard explanation is that unexpressed anger is directed towards oneself. That is true. But before it is directed towards oneself, something else happens, too. Unexpressed anger leads to feelings of expressive helplessness and inadequacy. We feel we are unable to even express our own emotions, not to speak of the ability to have an impact on our environment or the people we know (You can clearly notice this kind of helplessness in my previous post, which I'm going to leave as it is.) These feelings of helplessness and inadequacy then lead to self-hatred and depression.

Albert Ellis claims that it is possible never to get angry. He is right, it is possible. He also presents some practical methods of doing it. But when I read his works, I feel they are not as insightful or fruitful or interesting as the works of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychologists. I am taken with psychoanalysis. Maybe I'll be able to pursue the study of psychoanalysis with more zest and focus.

Back on track. Back to Freud.

A loony's two cents.