Hatred
Posted by Improving Lives Counseling | Articles
There’s a long list of quotations outlining the juxtaposition between love and hate, from the amount of energy consumed to the mental, physical, and emotional drain. Hatred is a toxic emotion which can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, behavioral disorders, and stroke. Hating an individual, culture, race, political party, school, co-worker, or neighbor can be just as damaging as hating a sibling or spouse. Stemmed in confrontation, harassment, abuse, and assault, targeted hatred has been linked to alcoholism, drug abuse, and promiscuity. Researchers have linked diabetes, chemical imbalance, digestive, and breathing disorders to imbedded anger and hatred. Hatred in politics has resulted in wars, of races and cultures in interment, and of individuals in the perpetration of crimes. Improving Lives Counseling Services’ team of professional counselors and therapists can treat the psychological toll and associated disorders related to hatred.
Hatred is not anger or intolerance. Intolerance is defined as: close-minded, indisposed to contrary opinions or beliefs, or inclined to suppress opposition. Anger is: hostility, or resentment or dislike often combined with the urge to hurt, abuse, or harm. Hatred, however, is a strong aversion, a repugnance, and intense dislike ingrained in an emotion or feeling – extreme chronic anger. Defined by many as evil, hatred is said to, “eat at the body, mind and soul.”
“Research shows that a little as one five-minute episode of anger is so stressful that it can impair your immune system for more than six hours.” Imagine the effect on the immune system when anger develops into hatred. Many in the medical community believe hatred is fashioned from a failure to understand, acknowledge, or appreciate. Others associate hated with fear, negative thoughts, and self-doubt. Hating material things, certain foods, music, or environments is normal. Chronic entrenched hatred of a certain person, cultures, races, or dogmas, however, can lead to an unanticipated transformation of the brain. “Hatred activates the brain regions associated with higher reason, aggression and the ability to predict what other people will do. Short periods of hatred can translate aggression into unprovoked action.” Many states apply tougher sentences to crimes committed under the influence of hate.
The 21st century has seen an up-tick in violence precipitated by hate. Children, adolescents, teens, adults, and even seniors are using the word. Television, movies, games, and interactive media embraces and systematically encourages hatred. Hatred interwoven into social inequalities, economic disparities, and past injustices is up. The increase in depression, the opioid crisis, and the surge in social disorder has been linked to hatred.
Hating a job is not venomous and malicious; hating the boss, the people you work with, customers and/or clients is. Hating things and people you cannot change, situations you have no control over, or environments you are predisposed too can cause headaches, pain, stress, and anxiety. Hatred in toddlers, children, adolescents, and teens can carry into adulthood – damaging self-worth, destroying relationships, and devastating families. There is an entire generation absorbing their surroundings – in print, through media, in the classroom, and in homes. Improving Lives Counseling Services can help. We treat the toxicity of anger, intolerance, and hatred. “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured,” said Mark Twain. Anger and hatred breed anger and hatred. Call us.