What You Don't Know About Anger Can Kill You

For the longest times we’ve been hearing how out so called “fight or flight” response is hardwired into us to address perceived risks for our survival. It is said, that when faced with imminent danger, our physique releases hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, which boost the heart pace, jolt the respiratory system, and pump up the muscles with a burst of power and stamina.

What you may not hear about that often is that this intense state of nervous arousal was beneficial while we were living in the caves and is useful in today's world but on far fewer occasions. Our fight-or-flight reaction was designed by mother nature to do one thing - allow us to make split-second decisions as to if we ought to flee or fight in highly dangerous scenarios but in today’s one may find this function just “a tad” too exaggerated.

One example is, you’re traveling on the highway, bass speakers blasting, and all of a sudden… you see disco lights behind you that surely look like a cop car. You look at your speedometer and are astounded to see you’re oozing at a comfortable 90 MPH… Your heartbeat is up, adrenaline is pumping, legs are shaking… now what? Your body is telling you to run! Your mind is telling you to stop! What to do?! Do you run or stop and fight? Joking obviously, you’ll be wise to observe the law but you get the point –your body is acting as if you are faced with imminent death.

Some people, especially the ones with anger disorders, can be living in this state twenty four/seven. But, there is a physical trade-off for this state of ultra-readiness. Science shows, that in order to enhance the hormonal system, the entire body weakens other systems, including the immune system. The issue is, your system is not fashioned to function in a chronic state of imbalance.

Whenever anger and stress all too often dominate our emotions, the body encounters severe anxiety and we feel drained like a cheap battery (just think of that splitting headache next day morning after a major verbal fight) and become susceptible to a host of physical and mental disorders.

Anger can also put an immense strain on the cardiovascular system. Under tension, the heart rate heightens, shrinking artery pathways and elevating blood pressure level. Large doses of blood sugar are discharged inside the blood vessels, increasing the amount of fat globules in the system, all of which makes for a perfect recipe for a cardiac arrest.

Unsurprisingly, numerous research studies have linked unmanaged anger disorders and chronic stress to heart disease. Most of these studies are also demonstrating a link between mind and body , brain and feelings. It’s been also shown that the right mindset can influence several emotional and biological processes ranging from urinary control to greater stamina in bed, from fear to depression, etc.

Bottom line is that hazardous emotional baggage causes toxicity in the system and yes, it can make you deadly sick. Comprehension of the way the brain and emotions are interconnected can be the first step to freeing yourself from the toxic effects and outcomes that anger can have on your life.
While it may not be as easy as flipping a switch and more like trying to lose a cop with disco lights in your rear view mirror, you could nonetheless learn to change your responses to challenging and annoying situations by way of being more conscious of your thought patterns, and some time tested anger management techniques.