Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1995

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Psychology

Major Professor

Leonard Handler

Committee Members

Ronald Hopson, Sandra Thomas, Howard Pollio

Abstract

This study was designed to explore the relationship between the emotion of anger and physical illness among women with cardiovascular disease and breast cancer using a phenomenological approach. Participants for the study included 10 women with cardiovascular disease and 10 women with breast cancer. The women in this study ranged in age from 44 to 75 years of age, and the time that had elapsed since diagnosis ranged from 7 months to 31 years. Participants were interviewed in-depth about their experience of anger. Each was asked to respond to the following question: "Please think of some times when you have been angry and tell me about one or two of those times in as much detail as possible." Three major themes and eight subthemes emerged from the phenomenological analysis: Theme I: Having A Negative Feeling, which was composed of two subthemes. The Bodily Experience of Anger and Feeling Hurt and Resentful; Theme II: Feeling in Control/ Feeling Helpless, which was composed of three subthemes. Helplessness, The Desire to Control, and Trying to Take Control; and Theme III: Taking Action, which was composed of three subhtemes. Doing, Not Doing, and Undoing. For women with cardiovascular disease, anger is an immediate negative feeling of nervousness and shakiness, which is experienced as hot, explosive, consuming, helpless, and out of control, and which requires a struggle to control. It usually includes a sense of helplessness, negative thoughts about others, a desire for revenge, which motivates them to make decisions about how to express their anger. to take action, or to defuse their anger in another way. When they are angry, they often leave the scene in order to maintain their composure and do not express their anger openly. This leaves them with unresolved anger, which manifests itself through a suspicious attitude, continuing hostility, and behavior which alienates them from others. They often express their anger verbally, sometimes in a loud and explosive manner, and they seem unconcerned about reconciliation. When they think about the situations and persons who have angered them, they usually reexperience the anger. The frequent intense reactivation of the cardiovascular system takes a toll over the years and contributes to the onset and progression of cardiovascular disease. For women with breast cancer, anger is a "terrible" feeling of tightness, heaviness, and bing "tied in knots," which usually includes hurt, disappointment, helplessness, resignation, and which renders them unable to think or speak clearly. Their anger may occur quickly, but more often it "stews," welling up as it comes closer to the surface and "leaking out" as tears. Anger tends to create a sense of confusion which prevents them from making decisions or taking positive action. They avoid their own anger by failing to acknowledge it and by forgetting it. They avoid others' anger by "keeping the peace" and avoiding confrontation. They have learned to "put a lid on" their emotions, and they tend to hold their anger in, hide it, fall silent, and withdraw. They usually express their anger quietly, but they may yell or scream. Expressing anger often makes them more upset, and they become preoccupied with self-blame and the need for reconciliation.

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