Types of Aggressive Behavior

According to Dr. Leon F. Seltzer of Psychology Today, everyone is born with an inherent and natural assertive personality. Yet, as a person grows older and experiences constraints from other people and his environment, he may begin to suppress some of his emotions. His suppressed frustration and rage can turn into aggression. Some people are more prone to aggression than others, which can develop in dangerous forms.

Passive Aggressiveness

• When a person is strongly displeased about something, he will most likely exhibit anger. This is a normal, valid feeling that usually goes away. But there are people who sulk in anger rather than get over it. Feelings are not addressed, and anger is manifested in other ways like constantly making critiques, shifting blame and seeing everything negatively. Anger can be counterproductive and management of it is crucial so that it doesn't turn into destructive behavior.

  According to Dr. René J. Muller of the Psychiatric Times, when angry emotions reach the pathological stage, it's reflective of the person's inability to channel his mind into taking control of his emotions and focusing on different matters. People who undergo an anger management process may be asked to channel their emotions into creative activities to help deal with control issues.

Hostility

• Hostility is exhibited when an angry person becomes confrontational. People who are hostile have a rude attitude. They don't hesitate to verbally lash out at other people and usually have a misguided sense of power. The condition is unhealthy, both mentally and physically. According to Dr. Barbara Fredrickson at the University of Michigan Emotional Lab, hostility is linked to heart disease. Her research shows that people who tend to get hot-blooded when angry put their arterial walls in danger. Soothing music or lighthearted reading is recommendedand in order to relax and lower blood pressure.

Physical Violence

• As anger or hostility escalates, it can turn into the worst type of aggression, which is called violent behavior. This is usually exhibited in physical or sexual assaults. According to CNN, people "snap" and turn violent as a result of a psychological build-up, which may be rooted in childhood. In some cases, especially those involving people with bipolar disorder, the build-up can take just a few hours. Each case is different, but for every situation, turning aggressively violent is usually an indicator of more underlying disorders and conditions. Among these conditions are substance abuse, schizophrenia, brain tumors and psychosis.