suppose a person says of a certain event, I became so angry that I feared I would lose control of myself this statement can be translated into the language of psychoanalysis. in general terms anger is a mild representation of the instinctive animal rage that exists at an unconscious level in the id. this animal rage is potentially so strong that it could overwhelm the rational controlling processes that form the ego: the person fears that he or she will lose control. the danger of being overwhelmed is experienced as anxiety or fear.