The roots of violence (and often despair)

This is an excerpt from today's Daily Groove, "The Roots of Violence."

Nothing is more natural than for a child to become angry when his intention is thwarted. Anger is a reaction to perceived entrapment or disempowerment; it activates the body's primal energies for restoring freedom and personal power. These energies can be applied violently... or creatively.

But when anger itself is thwarted -- when those energies are successfully suppressed via threats of punishment, withdrawal, or exclusion -- the child will descend into hopelessness... The child may then appear "well-adjusted," but those energies persist, like a sleeping volcano...

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