In this week’s Torah portion (Korach), we witness one of the most famous biblical arguments. Korach gathered a group of people to contest the power of Moshe and Aharon. Moshe and Aharon attempted to discuss the matter with those who felt slighted. However, their opponents stayed firm refusing to enter into conversation and ultimately greater than 250 of them died by the hand of God.

Why are we self destructive?

What is it about fighting that causes us to engage in it even at great personal risk? Most fights begin when one party feels angry about something. Unfortunately, once we are angry our prefrontal cortex, the area of our brains responsible for judgment, reasoning and logic, is literally handicapped and shuts down. The natural consequence of getting angry is that we lose our ability to make calculated decisions. Rather, we rely on the same primitive brain structures as lower level animals. Further, once a conflict is started, even when the parties calm down it is hard for them to resolve the issue due to fear of cognitive dissonance. When someone makes a threat or says something when they are angry they have a hard time retracting that statement because people inherently don’t want to contradict themselves. Essentially, people stick to their decisions even if they were poor ones.

The takeaway

The fact that anger leads to inferior, long lasting decisions should motivate us to not make decisions or take actionwhen we are angry. If we take the time to calm down and think about the situation we will ultimately respond in a more productive and beneficial way. Let’s learn from Korach’s mistake and not lead ourselves down a path of destruction.

Have you ever gotten into a conflict you regretted? Did you ever look back at decisions you made while angry and wonder what you were thinking? Share your questions comments and advice below.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Follow me

Ariel Mintz, MD

Dr. Ariel Mintz grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After spending two years learning in Israel, at Derech Eitz Chaim and Shaalivm, he earned his BA in Psychology at Yeshiva Univesity in New York. He went on to obtain his MD at Oakland University William Beaumont School of medicine and trained in adult psychiatry at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and is a practicing psychiatrist in Cleveland, Ohio. He has received awards for his research, academic performance, and service to the Jewish community. He has a supportive and talented wife and three wonderful children. He is very passionate about destigmatizing mental illness and bringing comfort to those who are suffering.

Follow me

Latest posts by Ariel Mintz, MD (see all)

• Mental Health in The Parsha: The Blessing of an Inflamed Nerve - December 3, 2020
• Mental Health in The Parsha: When Less is More - November 27, 2020
• Mind Games - February 24, 2019