The Risks of Anger

Don’t get me wrong. Anger is useful. I understand it as an energy, a force that tells us something is not ok in our world. In my car, if a red light comes on and I ignore it, it may be a fault with the electrics that brought the light on yet if it continues to shine and I continue to ignore it…. well, the rest of that sentence you can finish. Likewise with all our emotions: they provide us with feedback, pleasant or unpleasant. The pleasant feelings say ‘Keep doing what you’re doing’. The unpleasant ones say ‘Stop that and do something else instead’.

So what are these risks? Think hormone release and cortisol in particular. Like adrenaline, this is released in small quantities, necessary for everyday functioning. It’s released in larger amounts when there is a perceived threat to our survival, which is the body’s natural response to stress.  However, if we feel angry, anxious, depressed as many of us do for any length of time or frequently, there is a similar release as if we were under a real threat.

This can and often does lead to an unhelpful feedback loop starting with unpleasant thoughts that stimulate unpleasant feelings (or vice versa). This triggers a release of cortisol and when it lingers in our bloodstream can trigger those unpleasant thoughts & feelings, creating a vicious cycle. Think of external events in our lives that we regard as stressful: children not going to bed or getting up when we want them to, being late for work, missing a bus or train, getting caught in traffic unexpectedly, a deadline at work we’re not going to make.How we respond to these kind of events determines what goes on inside our bodies and the resulting mood we find ourselves in.

The release of cortisol itself is not the problem: it’s the difficulty we can have of shifting our thoughts and feelings in order that the vicious cycle doesn’t happen. This repeating cycle then leads to fatigue, depression and what we call burnout. So the answer is to not get angry, anxious or depressed then, yes? Well, if we all make the magical journey to Fantasy Life, of course! I’ll just wave my magic wand ok? So that’s the bad news. Fortunately, there is good news too (you were hoping there’d be some, right?).

From our chemistry lab of a body, we also have another hormone called DHEA . Well, it’s not called that, they are the initials of a very long name that I can never remember. If you like to know, hit the search engine – but not yet! This hormone, also produced in the adrenal glands is also known as the vitality or anti-aging hormone and helps to counter the effects of cortisol. DHEA can be increased by feelings such as care, gratitude, compassion  and appreciation. And just as cortisol can create a vicious cycle, so DHEA can create a cycle of beneficial feelings and thoughts. best professional pedicure tools

The extra good news then, is that we have a choice here. Where we may have formed a set of unhelpful internal habits in responding with anger to events and situations that we don’t enjoy, we can equally form a different set of habits once we become aware of our choices. Acceptance of those circumstances we can nothing or little about (for example, unexpected traffic, a child falling ill & needing care, a train being cancelled) will help, as will as our creativity and imagination to work out what practical steps we can take as well as choosing different thoughts and feelings. As with any new habit forming, it does require patience and persistence. I’ve found these habits have made a big improvement in my life. Want to find out more?