The Ill - Effects Of Anger And Its Management

^{(Picture courtesy of Doug Savage)}

We know that anger is beneficial to an extent, but excessive anger can cause problems. There is an increase in blood pressure and deterioration of the state of mind that is associated with anger, making it difficult to think straight and thus harms your physical and mental health.

Our emotions and what we feel are all responses brought about by the release of chemicals in the body. Therefore, suppression of these emotions or experiencing too much of these emotions sends the physiochemical state of the body into a frenzy causing an imbalance of hormones and associated metabolic changes.

“Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die”

-Buddha

Some of the short and long-term health problems that have been linked to unmanaged anger include:

• Headache

• Digestion problems

• Insomnia

• Increased anxiety

• Depression

• High blood pressure

• Skin problems, such as eczema

• Heart attack

^{(Picture courtesy of Sardonic Salad)}

Here are some tips to manage your anger :

• Keep yourself hydrated. This may sound funny, but lack of water in the body means the body can’t cool itself and it makes you irritable. If you take a moment to touch your forehead when you are angry, you will notice that it’s quite hot.

• Try a change of scenery. When you exit a room, you tend to forget things. This is because when you exit a room, the mind has to process the objects and the scenery of the new environment and disrupts your flow of thought. So if you are feeling angry, try moving to another room, it may help reduce your anger.

• Keep some water in your mouth. When you feel angry if you keep some water in your mouth, you tend to lose some of your anger. This is because the water in your mouth reduces the temperature of the head and also prevents you from saying hurtful things.

• Exercise regularly. This tends to have a good effect on anger management as you release most of your pent up energy. Also include a few breathing exercises and relaxation techniques and this will help with your peace of mind.

• Take a deep breath. This not only helps reduce the temperature of your head, but also gives you some time to think.

• Don’t keep your emotions pent up. If you express yourself regularly, there will be a less number of things for you to be angry about. If you don’t like something or what someone does, tell them directly, though it may hurt their feelings, it will help prevent fights in the long run.

^{(Cartoon courtesy of Scott Adams)}