Long-term, unresolved anger is linked to health conditions such as high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and heart disease. It's important to deal with anger in a healthy way that doesn't harm you or anyone else.
Anger is a completely normal, usually healthy, human emotion. But when it gets out of control and turns destructive, it can lead to problems—problems at work, in your personal relationships, and in the overall quality of your life.
Anger can be caused by a number of different things. Factors such as your personality, your coping style, your relationships, and your stress levels can all play a part in determining how much anger you experience in response to different situations and triggers.
Some experts suggest that the average adult gets angry about once a day and annoyed or peeved about three times a day. Other anger management experts suggest that getting angry fifteen times a day is more likely a realistic average.
The long-term physical effects of uncontrolled anger include increased anxiety, high blood pressure and headache. Anger can be a positive and useful emotion, if it is expressed appropriately. Long-term strategies for anger management include regular exercise, learning relaxation techniques and counselling.
According to Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, your anger should only last for 90 seconds. To feel an emotion we need to think a thought which then stimulates an emotional circuit in our brain which in turn creates a physiological response in our bodies.
1. Irritable, testy, touchy, irascible are adjectives meaning easily upset, offended, or angered. Irritable means easily annoyed or bothered, and it implies cross and snappish behavior: an irritable clerk, rude and hostile; Impatient and irritable, he was constantly complaining.
“Anger causes a flood of adrenaline, preparing your body for danger by raising blood pressure, heart rate and breathing, and making blood more likely to clot,” said Jeremy Warner, DO, from Samaritan Cardiology – Corvallis. “This can weaken artery walls and raise the risk for heart disease.”
Unhealthy anger is...
Not conducive to conversation and does not make space to problem solve. This form of anger it's not productive and doesn't address the anger itself. It alienates the other party, and leaves no room for open communication and problem solving.
Anger can shorten your life. Is it really true that happy people live longer? “Stress is very tightly linked to general health. If you're stressed and angry, you'll shorten your lifespan,” says Fristad.
When you're filled with rage, Dr. Wittstein offered as an example, blood pressure can increase, blood vessels can constrict, inflammatory cells are released by the immune system. All of this can lead to the rupturing of plaque inside the coronary artery.
Irritability can be caused by physical and mental health conditions, including: depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety. post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) dementia.
We can't make our anger go away. But if you feel that your anger is becoming a problem for you, there are ways that you can try to manage it. It's important to seek treatment and support, especially if you're worried your anger may put you or others at risk.
Anger is often a reaction to and distraction from inner suffering—feelings such as sadness, powerlessness, shame, anxiety, inadequacy, and isolation. Anger can be both an outgrowth of, and meaningful distraction, from the intense pain of underlying depression.
The program suggests in effect that if something starts bothering you, something that you might have seen or something that someone said to you, try not to react to it for 24 hours. Get out of there, wherever it is that you are upset about, and as much as possible put it out of your mind.
Use the 48-hour rule.
If your partner does something hurtful or that makes you angry, it's important to communicate it. If you aren't sure that you want to bring something up, try waiting 48 hours. If it's still bothering you, let them know.
Screaming or yelling are behaviors that may accompany anger or disappointment. Studies show that prolonged rage or anger and screaming are unhealthy for your relationships and your health, potentially leading to high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease. Yelling is a behavior, and anger is an emotion.