Getting to the Root

The ACE study supports the understanding that events that hap-pen to people when they’re young directly affect their actions and experiences in adulthood. When a person is manifesting anger, it’s important to look at what is underneath the anger: sadness.

Sadness buffers anger, and underlying the sadness is fear. Interventions that address the symptom of fear, a person’s anger, usually involve an ineffective cycle of telling a person “no,” “stop,” and “don’t” over and over again.

Getting to the root of the problem means looking beyond the angry behavior to see that it’s really sadness and fear that’s driving their behavior. When we can offer connection from this place, we can address the root of the problem, not just the symptom.