William M. Jump

“Anger directed against the self or others is always a central problem in the lives of people who have been violated and this is itself a repetitive re-enactment of real events from the past.”
Bessel A. van der Kolk

An adolescent is on trial for killing his mother with a baseball bat; another adolescent has going before a judge for killing his parents and siblings. As I was preparing this blog, another teenager has reportedly killed his mother in my local area. The “rage at mom syndrome” is rage directed toward the mother for not protecting the child from abuse, even if that mother didn’t know the abuse was occurring. These events have occurred within a fifteen mile radius of my house. How about the footage of male and female adolescents beating on the bus drivers as well as you-tube film of teenage girls beating on each other? Let’s not forget the school shootings over the last decade. The increase in these behaviors is related to the Universe not allowing denials to continue. (A future blog will address this concept).
The intense anger and rage that manifests in early adolescence is one of the primary emotions that was dissociated during an earlier intense stressor or trauma –physical, sexual, emotional abuse; from witnessing domestic violence, as well as from issues of abandonment and rejection. I have observed that early sustained trauma by the hands of a biological parent or trusted caregiver often correlated to more intense symptoms and more dramatic behavioral re-enactments. Many children experience trauma and severe stress from experiences outside of the household which can include bullying and sexual assaults, which if goes unchecked over time, can manifest in deep rage. The unconscious mind tries to contain this powerful anger during the latency stages, five to twelve. There is a different level of anger that emerges from the fourth chakra during the latency stage in the form of jealousy, frustration, and avenging behaviors (aggression with siblings). The anger that emerges from the third chakra during the early teen years can range from intense anger to rage. It can manifest in extreme aggression to violence and can often carry a “murder fantasy revenge” component that is being acted out all too often. Not everyone who holds blocked off anger expresses it overtly. Anger can be internalized and manifest in isolation, depression, suicidal ideation, and self-harm. However, anger/rage is the one emotion that typically seeks an external target. If not triggered by an outside event or another person, the ‘angry part’ will provoke or “pick a fight” in order to illicit the anger that it needs to feed upon.
A Dissociative/neurobiological perspective tells us that the powerful traumatic material is blocked off in fragments and processed in a more primitive part of the brain. Consequently, when dissociated anger is triggered, there is no stop and think mechanism; just a fight or flight reaction. This explains the overreactions and intimidating behaviors of those who carry blocked off anger and rage. It is as though the anger has a life of its own; as Tolle describes, a “primitive intelligence” directed primarily at survival.
From a dialogue with a high level Spiritual Guide (see Part IV in Beyond the Violation of the Self),“Anger is motivated by fear, the strongest force ever generated. Anger is a cry for help at the soul level. Please get me help!” Withdrawal, silences, self harm, and outward expressions of anger and aggression such as, “I hate you; nobody tells me what to do”, are signs that the unconscious mind can not control or is choosing to open the blocked off anger for healing. Cultures have “radical rituals” to resolve childhood trauma as it emerges. We pump our kids up with medication (not usually effective for trauma) and label them ADHD or Bi-polar and attempt to use behavioral modification techniques to control powerful primary emotions. If unhealed during adolescence, the anger and rage will continue in adulthood to manifest inwardly as depression and stomach problems, and outwardly in domestic violence and acts of rage.
Western culture needs to awaken to the deeper healing processes that are required for healing dissociated trauma. Two decades of utilizing hypnotic/abreactive techniques has been very effective in helping adolescents resolve blocked off trauma. (See hypnotic/abreactions in my website)

“A thwarted life purpose surges up during adolescence in the form of impetuousness and insubordination.” Malidoma Some
Some, M. P. (1998). The healing wisdom of Africa. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc.
Van der Kolk, B. A. (1989). The compulsion to repeat the trauma. Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 12 (2), 389-411.