Guest post: A mechanism for stimulating anger rushes

Originally a comment by Night Crow on Wasting time.

Part of the issue is that in the moment, anger feels good; it feels like the thing to do. It overrides all other moral and rational brakes in the brain because it originates from our primordial, original limbic system: the brain center of our most automatic emotions like fear and desire.…

What happens is that anger can lead to similar “rushes” as thrill-seeking activities where danger triggers dopamine reward receptors in the brain, or like other forms of addiction such as gambling, extreme sports, or even drugs like cocaine and methamphetamines. Anger can become its own reward …

There is also the psychological aspect of ego fragility and injury, often seen in narcissistic personalities; the rush behind anger can be triggered by underlying feelings of weakness or insecurity, a way to feel powerful in the moment and overcome those feelings. – Anger’s Allure: Are You Addicted to Anger?

It has occurred to me that presenting as ‘non-binary’ offers a splendid mechanism for reliably stimulating anger rushes. As I understand it there is not necessarily anything in a ‘non-binary’ person’s self-presentation to warn or remind an interlocutor to ‘affirm’ their special ‘identity’.

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