Anger is one of the most common emotions that can happen to people at any age, with frustration being one of the main triggers. While it is healthy to let yourself blow your anger once in a while than suppressing it, do you know that it poses some serious health hazards for your physical well being? On this week's journal, we will be explaining a few reasons on how anger can affect your overall health. Read on!
1. Affects heart health
Being angry has a physically damaging effect on your cardiac health. People who are more prone to angry outbursts were at twice the risk of developing the coronary disease compared to calmer peers. If you are more prone to being angry, some changes in how you deal with the emotion can help your heart. Repressing your anger, where you would express it indirectly or go to great lengths to control it, is associated with heart disease. While constructively dealing with anger, like using assertive communication and dealing with the frustration through a problem-solving approach, is considered a healthy emotion and not associated with heart disease.
2. Increases your chance of getting a stroke
If you have a habit to be easily irritated, then you may be one of those people who has three times higher risk of having a stroke after an angry outburst. Therefore, learning to control these anger explosions can be vital for your health. You may want to identify your anger triggers and act more assertively when faced with such condition. Instead of losing your temper, halt your actions and take deep breaths before deciding to walk away from the situation and deal with it when you're calmer later, or pose a calculated response which doesn't involve exploding anger.
3. Weakens your immune system
The stress hormones released when a person is angry can weaken the immune system making a person more susceptible to colds, the flu, infections, or even cancer. Therefore, if you're someone who's easily angered, protect your immune system and overall well-being by putting up through calming yourself down, doing assertive communication, effective problem solving, and restructuring your thoughts through humor.
4. Worsens your anxiety
A study have shown that anxiety and anger may go hand-in-hand. Anger can trigger symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, a condition characterized by an excessive and uncontrollable worry that interferes with a person’s daily life. Not only were higher levels of anger found in people with anxiety, but hostility and repressed, unexpressed anger can also contribute greatly to the severity of anxiety symptoms.
5. Triggers depression
Numerous studies have linked depression with aggression and angry outbursts. Planning to do things but actually never act on it can worsen anger and depression symptoms simultaneously. Therefore, it is important to channel your anger to a more positive energy, for example getting a new hobby or activity that consumes your mind may be a good therapy to reduce anger and depression.
