While not the most pleasant emotion to experience, anger is nonetheless a crucial part of our emotional spectrum, often acting as the materialisation of our internal sense of injustice.

From allowing emotional release to helping establish (and enforce) emotional boundaries with others, anger, when channelled in a healthy way, can motivate positive change and growth. 

On the other hand, suppressing feelings of anger or channelling them in unhealthy ways can not only lead to emotional and physical conflict but can inevitably damage our relationships in the process.

Despite being a reactive and often volatile emotion, anger is often a secondary emotion masking underlying feelings of sadness, frustration, fear or vulnerability, meaning the emotion itself can be far more complex than it sometimes presents. 

Just as we each express and receive love differently, as per Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages philosophy, everyone approaches feelings of anger in different ways. 

Taking the time to understand exactly how you feel and express anger could make all the difference when it comes to maintaining healthy relationships with others and yourself. 

Five common types of anger

While it’s difficult to deduce the total number of anger types, with the complex emotion constantly developing alongside our changing world, the five most common types are as follows:

#1. Volatile Anger

Volatile anger can seemingly erupt from nowhere, with little warning, and is largely characterised by explosive outbursts. People exhibiting volatile anger often yell, shout and can resort to physical aggression, which, if left unchecked, can cause damage to property or others. 

#2. Pain-Based Anger

Pain-based anger is a manifestation of underlying hurt, depression or pain, and often materialises as a temporary shield from feelings of sadness. 

#3. Manipulative Anger

Expressed both consciously and unconsciously, manipulative anger is commonly used to control or intimidate others. Those exhibiting manipulative anger often avoid responsibility, shift blame and dominate or scare others.

#4. Overwhelmed Anger

Often feeling intense and uncontrollable, overwhelmed anger occurs when people lose control of a situation, and is linked to stress, hopelessness and frustration.

#5. Retaliatory Anger

When a person feels attacked or vulnerable, it's instinctual for them to experience retaliatory anger.

Based on an understanding of these types of anger, Psychotherapist Dr Jennifer Cox has deduced that there are five anger personality types, explained in her best-selling book, Women Are Angry.

The five anger personality types

#1. The Passive-Aggressive

Someone classified as a Pessive-Aggressive often suppresses their anger, instead expressing it indirectly through backhanded compliments and sarcasm. As a result, this personality type can struggle with confrontation and tends to avoid directly expressing their anger.

#2. The Exploder

Perhaps the fieriest of the bunch, the exploder loudly expresses their anger openly (and intensely). While their ability to shout and vent their feelings helps them find temporary relief, they can often damage their relationships with others in the process. 

#3. The Self-Suppressor

As someone who internalises their feelings of rage and anger, the Self-Suppressor can quickly find themself experiencing resentment and even depression. Given their tendency to avoid conflict, this personality type tends to struggle greatly with internal emotional turmoil. 

#4. The Ruminator

The Ruminator can be described as someone who holds a grudge, dwelling on past injustices and slights. Replaying past events and allowing their anger to fester over time, anger can negatively affect Ruminators’ mental health and their ability to let go of anger in the long term. 

#5. The Assertive

The healthiest anger personality type by a mile, the Assertive addresses feelings of anger head-on, expressing their emotions in a constructive way immediately after recognising their impact. They seek resolution, and regardless of their personal feelings, maintain respect for others.

Why women should never suppress anger

While knowing the specifics of your anger personality type is of course important, Dr Cox is firmly of the belief that no feelings of anger (whatever form they take) should be suppressed – especially by women, who have been subject to unfair patriarchal standards for centuries. 

“We’ve been conditioned to think women’s rage is suspicious, scary, witchy, uncontrolled, unpredictable. And as women still living in a patriarchal society, we’ve been socialised and conditioned not to show anger publicly. It’s taboo,” says Dr Cox in an interview with Capsule NZ. 

“Anger is energy. It’s cortisol. It’s adrenaline. Those hormones don’t do us good when they’re left to sit in our system,” adds the psychotherapist, explaining that suppressing our anger can have toxic consequences on our health and relationships.