24/01/2026
Is anger, or short temper, an emotion to “control,” or decode..?
Strong emotions like anger are not “problems” to eliminate — they are fast, protective signals driven by subcortical systems (amygdala, threat circuitry) that evolved long before language or logic.
I used to rely on anger a lot. It’s hard not to - it pushes people and problems away. But, the „problems” still need to be resolved.
Through my education in psychology and neuroscience, my work with neurodiversity, and life experiences, I learnt very quickly that anger is the first signal of
😔 unmet needs,
😔 overwhelm,
😔 injustice,
😔 sensory overload.
When the boy in Belfast 1967 in BBC Archive clip instinctively turned to stories, he was doing something profoundly regulating:
👉 shifting attention,
👉 engaging imagination,
👉 activating neural pathways that calm the body enough for reflection to return.
Sadly, we don’t get lost in stories anymore.
📊 Only about one in three 8–18-year-olds now enjoy reading in their free time, the lowest level in two decades.
📊 Even fewer — less than one in five — read something daily outside of school commitments.
(National Literacy Trust)
Being lost in a story isn’t about a literacy skill. It’s about a regulatory experience that naturally slows our physiology, invites reflection, and frames inner turbulence through metaphor — the very things that help bind fragmented emotion into narrative meaning.
I started writing and recording some short stories for children to help with exactly that:
to pause, process, and explore big emotions through story, play, connection, and curiosity.
Do you want a listen?
Discover Stories for Adults
https://open.spotify.com/show/0ViR3WPCdMtqWILFcw3Ty6?si=l8-sYwOZQJSZFYl4bv8vVA
Discover Stories for Children
https://open.spotify.com/show/1cIrbcxRlSpFxvzGBbLQTZ?si=464Wqy6lRu60It3iy6rnGw
neuroscience neurodiversity story podcast therapy