When we divert anger, we try to escape it or put it out of mind. Women suppress anger by containing it. Many women report that when they suppress anger they feel almost immediate tightness in their chest, shoulders, neck, back or stomach. Some say that suppressing anger leads them to overeat or drink too much to soothe the pain they feel inside. Sometimes circumstances force us to divert anger by suppressing it for the moment, for instance in an unsafe relationship where anger expression is forbidden.
Women internalize anger by absorbing guilt and blame meant for others with whom they're angry.
Suppressing anger for long periods results in internalization because un consciously we must attribute responsibility for the hurt somewhere . These women act on their anger without realizing what they're doing. The anger-segmenting woman denies ever getting angry as she smiles through clenched teeth. Later, she loudly points out that she saw your outfit hanging on a rack at a neighbor's garage sale. While segmentation seems to protect her from having to own up to her difficult feelings, it also creates more stress by damaging her relationships and forcing her to contain anger in health-compromising ways.