十万个为什么：我们为什么会生气？

Colossal Questions：Why do we get angry?

Everyone freaks out from time to time and blows their top.

每个人都会时不时地大发雷霆，勃然大怒。

But why?

但是为什么呢？

What causes anger, and why does it cause us to react the way it does?

是什么导致了愤怒，为什么它会让我们做出那些反应方式呢？

Let's find out, on today's episode of Colossal Questions!

让我们在今天的十万个为什么中一探究竟吧！

Anger might seem like it's totally a bad thing, but it's a perfectly natural emotion.

愤怒看起来似乎完全是一件坏事，但这是一种非常自然的情感。

In general, we tend to get angry for two basic reasons: violation of expectations and blockage of goals.

通常，我们生气有两个基本的原因：违反期望和目标受阻。

A blockage of goals happens any time something gets in the way of something you really need or want, like if you wait in line for tickets, only to find out they're sold out.

每当遇到某个东西阻碍你真正需要或想要的事情时，就会出现目标受阻的情况，例如，如果你排队等候购票，然后发现票已售罄了。

And a violation of expectation happens whenever we detect a disturbance in the natural order of how we expect things to be, like when someone breaks the unwritten rules of society, like cutting in line.

每当我们发现什么事干扰我们期待事情的发展的自然顺序的时候，就会发生违反期望的情况，例如有人违反了社会的不成文规定，例如插队。

Anger isn't just mental.

愤怒并不只是心理上的事情。

There are physical effects, too.

它们也会有身体反应。

Getting mad releases adrenaline, which makes your blood pressure rise, your face flush red with blood, and causes your muscles to tense up tight.

愤怒会释放出肾上腺素，这会使你的血压升高，让你满脸通红，导致你的肌肉紧绷。

Almost instantly, we try to assess who is to blame, how badly it's hurt, and what happens if we act with anger.

几乎是即时的，我们会尝试搞清楚谁应该背锅，受到的伤害有多严重，以及如果我们表现出愤怒的话会怎么样。

And maybe most importantly, we try to understand why the person did what they did to see if it's worth getting angry over.

包许最重要的是，我们会试图解开这个人为什么做了他们所做的事情，看看是否值得生气。

For instance, if a friend accidentally hurts you while playing a game, it's probably not a big deal.

比如说，如果以为朋友在玩游戏时不小心伤到了你，那可能没什么大不了的。

But what if they did it on purpose?

但是如果他们是故意的呢？

Well, then you're much more likely to get angry about it, even though the pain was the same.

好的，那么即使痛苦是一样的，你也很可能对此感到生气。

Inside your brain, the amygdala, which is the part that deals with emotion, will start to react within a quarter of a second and start freaking out.

大脑内部的杏仁核是处理情绪的部件，它将在四分之一秒内开始反应并开始发怒。

But another part of the brain spins into action too, the frontal lobe, which controls logic and reason.

但是大脑的另一部分也会开始工作，也就是控制逻辑和理性的额叶。

That part of the brain attempts to jump in and keep the emotional amygdala from having an overly angry reaction.

大脑的这个部分会试图插进来，阻止情绪上头的杏仁核产生过度愤怒的反应。

So while anger might seem like the stupidest human emotion, and oftentimes it can be, it's actually quite a complicated balancing act to try and react the right way to anger-inducing situations.

因此，尽管愤怒看起来像是人类最愚蠢的情绪，而且有时可能就是这样的，但实际上，试图对引发愤怒的情况做出正确反应是一种相当复杂的平衡的行为。

The whole entire reaction happens in less than two seconds.

整个反应在不到两秒钟的时间内发生。

That's why the age-old advice has always been one of the simplest ways to deal with anger: when you get mad, just count calmly to 10 before you let yourself react.

这就是为什么古老的建议一直是处理愤怒的最简单的方法之一的原因：当你生气时，请冷静地数到10，然后再让自己做出反应。

See?

懂了吗？

Isn't that better?

那岂不是更好？

2025年12月28日于经典龙苑