--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anger is a strong, protective emotion…" description: "\"“Anger is a strong, protective emotion that can help us through a difficult situation. But it's also what's called a \"presenting emotion,\" meaning it o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/adam-s-mchugh-24465_anger_anger-is-a-strong-protective-emotion-tha_2761749.jpg" --- # Anger is a strong, protective emotion that can help us… ![“Anger is a strong, protective emotion that can help us through a difficult situation. But it's also what's called a "presenting emotion," meaning it often shows itself first but underneath it are more vulnerable emotions, like hurt or sadness. Anger's second purpose is to usher us into the deep…” quote by Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/adam-s-mchugh-24465_anger_anger-is-a-strong-protective-emotion-tha_2761749.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/adam-s-mchugh-24465_anger_anger-is-a-strong-protective-emotion-tha_2761749.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/adam-s-mchugh-24465_anger_anger-is-a-strong-protective-emotion-tha_2761749.jpg) > ““Anger is a strong, protective emotion that can help us through a difficult situation. But it's also what's called a "presenting emotion," meaning it often shows itself first but underneath it are more vulnerable emotions, like hurt or sadness. Anger's second purpose is to usher us into the deep emotions underneath it and to give us clues as to how we can be healed... this is a matter of asking questions. The AHEN principle helps shape your questions... What am I feeling? What is the hurt beneath the anger? What is the expectation beneath the hurt? What is the need beneath the expectation?”” [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anger signals deeper feelings; by probing beneath it we uncover hurt, expectations, and needs, guiding healing. **In simple terms:** Anger hides deeper emotions; explore them to heal. Key Takeaway Investigate underlying emotions behind anger. Themes emotion self-awareness healing psychology Mood introspective empathetic Type psychological self-help When to use this quote - therapy sessions - personal reflection - conflict mediation - coaching Key Concepts protective emotion presenting emotion AHEN principle Questions to Reflect On - What need lies beneath your current frustration? - How can you address the hidden hurt? A Different Perspective Focusing only on anger may overlook other issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Difficult Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-situation/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) ## Related quotes > [“Beneath anger, there are hurt feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yong-kang-chan/beneath-anger-there-are-hurt-feelings/) [Yong Kang Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yong-kang-chan/) > [Stay positive.If you keep yourself in mist of sadness, anger or regret it wont help you, be happy. If you have nothing nice to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/stay-positive-if-you-keep-yourself-in-mist-of-sadness-anger-or-regret/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [“Many survivors find that they didn’t really know how to express sadness or anger throughout most of their lives. They were instead expected to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-mackenzie/many-survivors-find-that-they-didn-t-really-know-how-to-express/) [Jackson MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-mackenzie/) > [“Resentment is the worst. Because unlike sadness or anger, it lingers, dangling overhead like a chandelier of shattered glass. At any given moment a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-mcknight/resentment-is-the-worst-because-unlike-sadness-or-anger-it-lingers/) [Zoe McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-mcknight/) > [If you wish to heal your own sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness or anger of another. Those others are waiting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/if-you-wish-to-heal-your-own-sadness-or-anger-seek-to-heal-the/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“Sometimes my sadness and my anger still feel as hard as ice; that's how I saw them for a long time, in fact. Sadness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-regnery/sometimes-my-sadness-and-my-anger-still-feel-as-hard-as-ice-that-s/) [Katy Regnery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-regnery/) > [Forget your sadness, anger, grudges, and hatred. Let them pass like smoke caught in the breeze. You should not deviate from the path of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaaki-hatsumi/forget-your-sadness-anger-grudges-and-hatred-let-them-pass-like-smoke/) [Masaaki Hatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaaki-hatsumi/) > [“...sadness and anger aren't vampiric. If you let them, they'll follow you around the world, sunshine and stakes be damned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/sadness-and-anger-aren-t-vampiric-if-you-let-them-they-ll-follow-you/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [“Malevolence is born of negative feelings like loneliness and sadness and anger. It comes from an emptiness inside you that feels as if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryu-murakami/malevolence-is-born-of-negative-feelings-like-loneliness-and-sadness/) [Ryu Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryu-murakami/) > [Experiencing sadness and anger can make you feel more creative, and by being creative, you can get beyond your pain or negativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/experiencing-sadness-and-anger-can-make-you-feel-more-creative-and-by/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [I think sadness and anger are really fertile ground for comedy. No one is really interested in a happy person doing comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-galifianakis/i-think-sadness-and-anger-are-really-fertile-ground-for-comedy-no-one/) [Zach Galifianakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-galifianakis/) > [The best therapists can do with sadness, anger, and anxiety is to help patients live in the more comfortable part of their set range.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/the-best-therapists-can-do-with-sadness-anger-and-anxiety-is-to-help/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [I have sadness in me. I have anger in me. I have heartbreak in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-have-sadness-in-me-i-have-anger-in-me-i-have-heartbreak-in-me/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [“Life’s about a hell of a lot more than being happy. It’s about feeling the full range of stuff: happiness, sadness, anger, grief, love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marsden/life-s-about-a-hell-of-a-lot-more-than-being-happy-it-s-about-feeling/) [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) > [My pain turned to sadness and my sadness to anger. My anger grew into hate and I have forgotten how to smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara/my-pain-turned-to-sadness-and-my-sadness-to-anger-my-anger-grew-into/) [Tara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara/) ## More by Adam S. McHugh > [“Typical evangelism books always seem to locate airplanes as the most advantageous setting for evangelistic encounters, where, at 30,000 feet, restive unvelievers are unable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/typical-evangelism-books-always-seem-to-locate-airplanes-as-the-most/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“Let God make you fully you. Rejoice in your God-given temperament and use it for God's purposes. This point cannot be emphasized enough. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/let-god-make-you-fully-you-rejoice-in-your-god-given-temperament-and/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“In a team setting, leadership is shared by a community of people, which counters the tendency for pastors to form congregations in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/in-a-team-setting-leadership-is-shared-by-a-community-of-people-which/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“When introverts are in conflict with each other...it may require a map in order to follow all the silences, nonverbal cues and passive-aggressive behaviors!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/when-introverts-are-in-conflict-with-each-other-it-may-require-a-map/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“Introverted seekers need introverted evangelists. It's not that extroverts can't communicate the gospel, either verbally or nonverbally, in ways that introverts find appealing, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/introverted-seekers-need-introverted-evangelists-it-s-not-that/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“We could paraphrase "repent and believe" with "close your ears and listen." Obedience has both a stop and start to it. We turn our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/we-could-paraphrase-repent-and-believe-with-close-your-ears-and/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“When we open the Bible we must do so in faith that God has the power to resurrect dead letters. As Scot McKnight says,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/when-we-open-the-bible-we-must-do-so-in-faith-that-god-has-the-power/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“Listening and silence are not necessarily the same thing, but silence is a really good start.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/listening-and-silence-are-not-necessarily-the-same-thing-but-silence/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“One of the most unexpected findings of my research was that introverted pastors felt very comfortable preaching, irrespective of congregation size. Many of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/one-of-the-most-unexpected-findings-of-my-research-was-that/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“It signaled a big shift in my approach to the Bible when I started calling it not "reading" but "listening." In listening to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/it-signaled-a-big-shift-in-my-approach-to-the-bible-when-i-started/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“Each falling tear carries pain and it's the only way to get it out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/each-falling-tear-carries-pain-and-it-s-the-only-way-to-get-it-out/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“The familiarity and informality of some churches in the evangelical tradition, with their best intentions of devotion and hospitality, can actually exclude introverts. Times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/the-familiarity-and-informality-of-some-churches-in-the-evangelical/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“This is one of the greatest challenges for a listener: to delay your response so that others can express their present emotions and unresolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/this-is-one-of-the-greatest-challenges-for-a-listener-to-delay-your/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“introverts often feel more freedom in worship services that feature traditional liturgy than they do in ones that feature more open, informal, unstructured styles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/introverts-often-feel-more-freedom-in-worship-services-that-feature/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [“Introverts treasure the close relationships they have stretched so much to make.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/introverts-treasure-the-close-relationships-they-have-stretched-so/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) [Explore all 24 Adam S. McHugh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Anger is a strong, protective emotion that can help us through a difficult situation. But it's also what's called a \"presenting emotion,\" meaning it often shows itself first but underneath it are more vulnerable emotions, like hurt or sadness. Anger's second purpose is to usher us into the deep emotions underneath it and to give us clues as to how we can be healed... this is a matter of asking questions. The AHEN principle helps shape your questions... What am I feeling? What is the hurt beneath the anger? 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