What is Anger and how to channel it in the right direction?

Category: Health

Anger is that strong emotion you experience when something goes wrong or when someone wrongs you. Stress, frustration, and irritation are common feelings associated with it. Anger is something that everyone experiences from time to time. It’s a totally normal reaction to challenging or stressful conditions. So, what’s wrong with a completely normal and human emotion? Anger becomes a problem only when it is shown excessively and begins to influence your everyday functioning and personal relationships. Anger can range in intensity from mild irritation to outright wrath. It can be excessive or illogical at times. It can be difficult to keep your emotions under check in these situations, which may lead you to act in ways you wouldn’t otherwise. Our bodies go through biological and physiological changes when we are angry. Increased energy levels, elevated blood pressure, an increase in hormones such as adrenaline and noradrenaline, increased muscle tension, as well as an increase in body temperature, are all examples of biological changes. Anger takes many forms in different individuals, and we all exhibit it in different ways. Raised voices, clenched fists, frowning or scowling, a clenched jaw, physical trembling, rapid heartbeats, sweating excessively pacing excessively, for example, are some of the outward traits you may notice when you are upset. Putting your body through these changes often, and repeatedly getting angry, can lead to medical conditions and complications such as high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, insomnia, substance abuse, gastric ulcers, bowel disease, and diabetes. In order to treat a problem, you first need to identify it. So, how do you identify anger? As stated before, we all exhibit anger differently, thus it doesn’t appear the same in everyone. Some angry people regard their emotions as either black or white—they are either enraged or calm. Anger, in actuality, is not black and white, but rather a complex grey area. Anger exists on a spectrum ranging from rage to calm, with most people experiencing some gradation of anger in between these two extremes. People who are prone to viewing anger in terms of extremes may struggle to recognize when they are experiencing intermediate anger states. Screaming may be an outlet for some people’s anger, while others may express their rage by physically assaulting an object or even another person. Anger is a natural human emotion, but it’s crucial to learn how to express it in a healthy way so that we don’t alienate those around us. It’s also crucial for your mental health to express your anger in a healthy way. Causes: Now that we’ve learned how to identify our anger, we will proceed to understand what causes it. Anger can be triggered by many factors, both external and internal. It can be triggered by a person or an event. You can feel angry because someone cut in line in front of you in line. You might also feel angry when you are emotionally hurt, threatened, in pain, or in a confrontation. Sometimes, we use anger as a mask to avoid dealing with other, more integral emotions such as emotional pain, fear, loneliness, or loss. Anger becomes a secondary emotion in these situations. Anger can also be a response to physical pain, fear, a stressful circumstance, or to protect yourself from a perceived attack. Anger can also be triggered by rational or irrational factors. Dealing with the loss of a loved one, for example, is a common source of rage. Other examples of such triggers could be, losing a job, going through a breakup, failing at a job or a task, being fatigued, getting in an accident, or getting a condition that causes physical changes in your body, etc. It can also be a symptom of medical issues such as depression, substance addiction, ADHD, or bipolar disease, among other things. How to channel this anger in the right direction: Zoom out a bit: When you’re in the depths of your emotions, it can be difficult to gain perspective on what’s going on and why you’re angry, and that’s when taking a step back might help. When you’re upset, all you see is that red bullseye, and you need to zoom away from it to gain perspective. Use your imagination: Examine the root of your rage from many perspectives to see if there’s a way to help things improve. We will feel less stuck if we are able to think beyond the box and find healthier answers. Make your voice heard: No, I’m not talking about a Facebook feud with your cousin. However, writing to your representatives about your concerns,