Understanding Hate: A Clinical Perspective on Anger and Emotional Pain

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain." - James Baldwin

Hate is a powerful and often destructive emotion. It can feel sharp, energising, and protective. For some, it may even feel easier to sustain anger or hatred than to face what exists beneath it. James Baldwin’s observation captures this dynamic with striking clarity. Hate can act as a shield against vulnerability. Beneath its intensity, there is often pain that has not yet been addressed.

Hate as a defence

In psychological terms, strong emotions such as hate or rage can be understood as defences. They protect us from feelings that may feel overwhelming to approach directly, such as grief, shame, loneliness, fear or helplessness. These underlying emotions are often quieter, harder to name, and more difficult to tolerate.

While hatred can push others away or create a sense of control, it often does so at the cost of keeping us disconnected from our own internal experience.

What lies beneath anger

Clinical thinkers have long noted that anger often masks more vulnerable states. Psychoanalytic theory, for example, describes anger as a defence against unbearable affect. Contemporary trauma research highlights how rage can emerge from a nervous system in survival mode, protecting the self from exposure or powerlessness.

In this sense, hate can function as an organiser of experience. It creates a clear enemy, a channel for energy, and a sense of purpose. However, it can also obscure the unresolved hurt or trauma that gave rise to it.

The role of therapy

Therapeutic work often involves exploring the emotions that sit behind defences such as hate. This does not mean removing defences abruptly or labelling them as problematic. Instead, it involves recognising the protective role they have played and carefully creating space to encounter what lies beneath.

For many people, allowing hate or rage to soften reveals pain that has never been fully acknowledged. This pain may be rooted in loss, rejection, humiliation or early experiences of trauma. By naming and working through this pain, new possibilities for connection, empathy and repair can emerge.

Moving towards understanding

Recognising the function of hate is not the same as excusing it. Rather, it allows us to see the human tendency to protect ourselves from feelings that seem intolerable. Baldwin’s insight reminds us that when hate loosens its grip, we may be faced with pain, but also with the possibility of transformation.

Working through this pain can create a different relationship with ourselves and with others. Instead of being governed by hatred, our experience can be shaped by understanding, connection and the potential for healing.