Anger is a natural emotion and it’s impossible to not to get angry. We all believe this. We also know, anger creates havoc in our body. Frequent episodes of anger can affect our mental and physical health. It can spoil our work and strain our relationship.
List of effects and side effects of anger is long. Every person unanimously would agree that one should not get angry. But how is that possible? Let’s talk about anger in detail.
Anger is an emotion which makes you feel that someone has done something wrong with you or something has happened which is not fair for you, and we retaliate to show that we do not agree with whatever had happened and we are bit upset.
There are 3 different ways in which person reacts when angry.
(1) Passive Aggression: People of this type are not good at showing anger. First, it is difficult for them to believe that they are angry. They would prefer to keep quiet and suppress their anger. They will keep on analyzing the episode to understand it better before showing reaction. They also try to see whether they are wrong in anyways or they shouldn’t be thinking this way. Sometimes they also find it difficult to express or even don’t feel like expressing. And it creates confusion in mind. They get troubled and disturbed within themselves.
(2) Open Aggression: Open aggression is opposite to passive aggression. People of this type loses their temperament easily. They don’t hesitate in shouting, using abusive language and even raise their hands. This is the violent way of showing anger. Risk of physical injury is also involved in this type of temperament. After throwing anger in violent way, most of the people would feel, they said few words which can put permanent scratches on their relationship, and they will feel sorry for their own behavior.
It is pertinent to note that in this type, they just give their reaction instead of solving problem. And they fail to see this big miss.
(3) Assertive Anger: People with this type, demonstrate a mature way to deal with the issue by talking to the other person with the intention of solving the problem. This method is most effective which gives you easy solution to resolve the problem without straining relationship or spoiling physical/mental health. There is no resentment either once anger is diffused.
In a way, anger is not a negative emotion. The way we demonstrate anger can be negative. In fact, anger is good for our development. Whether dealing with a tricky situation at work or resolving a personal disagreement, it even strengthens our relationships if we communicate our side of story in a mature way with the intension of resolving burning issue.
It is also wise to know anger if shown in negative way can harm your body much more than you believe. We really don’t understand the damage done on our body by staying in or demonstrating violent side of us.
Let’s discuss about effects of anger on our body.
(1) Heart: Anger increases heart rate and simultaneously increases blood pressure. Inflammation also increases in this process and these all-combined increases the risk of heart attack, especially to those with a pre-existing heart ailment. According to a study, people who hold on to anger for a longer time have double the risk of heart attack compared to others who try to diffuse their anger quickly. People who prefer to keep things buried within themselves need to remember this. It is wise to talk about a problem and resolve it at the earliest in order not to cause more trouble to the body.
(2) Brain: In anger, it is not possible for our brain to think straight. We tend to make wrong decisions in anger and in most of the cases, we regret on them at a later date. Frequent episodes of anger, affects our sleep which increases risk of anxiety and depression.
(3) Stomach: We all know about gut-brain connection. Even slightest unpleasant thought can put stress on our digestive system. In stressful situations, it becomes difficult for our digestive system to work optimally and to absorb nutrients from our diet resulting our body deprived of nutrients. In long run, we might see permanent damage on our digestive system.
Apart from these 3 organs, anger affect our whole-body in some or the other way. According to one study, anger reduces our life expectancy.
10 ideas to diffuse anger and to handle situation in a mature way:
(1) Train yourself to not to give reaction immediately. In other words, stop allowing yourself to react immediately. We usually allow ourselves to react in front of the people whom we can overpower. Do not give yourself this excuse that “immediate reaction is natural. It is a conscious choice.”
(2) When you analyze the situation, keep your focus on resolving problem. Judging the other person and making him/her aware of your emotions is unnecessary. It is ok if problem is resolved without them realizing how bad you have felt. Everyone is busy in their own life and dealing with their own issues. It is alright if they miss something. It doesn’t make them a villain.
(3) Think of possible solutions. We usually get into discussion of problem and miss this important part. Problem can be resolved only with a solution.
(4) Force yourself to see positive side of the situation or the mindset of the opposite person. Remember, positive mindset is must to deal with trickiest situation.
(5) Give yourself a time frame. Do not take too much time and keep on analyzing for eternity. Decide sensible timeframe and do not drag it further.
(6) Get mentally and physically ready for discussion. Make sure that your body is well rested the previous night. Wake up fresh, follow exercise or meditation routine. Eat healthy breakfast. Dress up well, preferably put on your favorite clothes. Listen to some nice music to uplift your mood.
(7) Anything and everything can be said in a lighter way. Try to make the discussion non-eventful. If possible, add humor. Avoid talking more about your emotions rather keep focus on possible solutions.
(8) Do not lose your cool. By losing it, you might portrait yourself as a villain. Learn to foresee situation. If it is not heading towards resolution, try to end the discussion at the earliest. Do not fall into trap of a blame game. You cannot bend the situation in your favor by showing anger.
(9) It’s alright if after putting efforts if you fail to resolve conflicts. Everyone has their own understanding to deal with the situations. It’s important for us to understand how much we can stretch. We need to stop harassing ourselves at one point.
(10) Think on the possible solutions without the help of another person. Believe, you have much more capacity to deal with the tricky situations.
When we talk about life, it’s usual to have challenges. And if we opt to deal with the situation in a mature way, we can find ways to bend the situation in our favor.