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December 11, 2005

Season for Anger Management

Are you one of those people who think, "I'm better off to have an angry outburst because holding it in is worse." You therefore rationalize your anger as acceptable, but is it really? 
 
Medical science says no. Failure to control a "hot temper" will eventually affect your health, often in dramatic ways and it will isolate you from your friends and family members. Lets face it, when you don't have your health and you don't have friends or loved ones, you've lost almost everything that makes life worth living.

Lets take a look at some of the common physical effects from anger and see if they apply to you:

Headache
Digestion problems, such as abdominal pain
Insomnia
Increased anxiety
Depression
High blood pressure
Skin problems, such as eczema
Heart attack
Stroke
Respitory problems.

Anger always works against your body. Every anger event causes blood platelets to attach themselves to the walls of your heart and blood vessels temporarily raises your blood pressure and skin temperature. Adrenaline and other stress hormones flood into your body. In some cases, the adrenaline causes dangerous hearet arrhythmias, leading to a sudden and often fatal heart attack.
 
Here are some tips to managing anger:

Try to see the situation in the best possible light. 

Step away from the situation until you have a chance to cool down.  

Try to pinpoint the exact reasons why you feel angry; is it logical or is it something you've projected?

Once you have identified the problem, consider coming up with different strategies on how to remedy the situation.

Remember, a good deal of anger is generated by your own thoughts. People who quickly snap at others tend to think in the negative. It follows then, the first step to diffusing your anger is to learn to see things differently and using your brain instead of your emotions.  "While angry feelings frequently surprise us and come upon us automatically, it is our “self-talk� that makes us more angry. Change what you tell yourself about what is going on, and you can drastically change your feelings about it." Betterhealth.vic.gov.au   

One of the reasons I choose to write this article is this winter/holiday season. Thanks to the short days and long nights people tend to suffer more from depression, we call this "seasonal affective disorder." Then there is the pressure from the holidays and all the expectations and disappointments that it may bring.

Families are probably never more challenged than this time of year and the suicide and physical abuse rates, confirm it. So, if you feel you have an anger problem, I urge you to get some help. There is a plethora of great articles about managing anger on this net, but if that's not enough then for your sake and those you love, please seek out professional help. You might just have a better life if you do.

Posted by Post Scripts at December 11, 2005 07:54 AM

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