6 Ways Your Anger Could Kill You
Anger is a healthy emotional response that every human experiences but how we deal with it is what defines what it becomes, healthy or unhealthy. Anyone who is always angry can relate to the fact that it could negatively affect all aspects of their lives. But did you know that heart attacks, strokes, sleep disturbances, mood issues, and anxiety , and so on could be a product of anger? Well yes! It comes in the form of Internalized anger which is bottled up and not expressed and externalized anger which is expressed in a disrespectful, aggressive, and sometimes even dangerous manner. Some of you may well already know that anger could have a negative effect on your health but some of you might not, but so we are all clear.
An angry outburst puts your heart at great risk: According to experts, most physically damaging is anger’s effect on your cardiac health. “In the two hours after an angry outburst, the chance of having a heart attack doubles. Repressed anger — where you express it indirectly or go to great lengths to control it, is associated with heart disease.
Anger ups your stroke risk. If you’re prone to lashing out, beware. One study found there are three times higher risk of having a stroke from a blood clot to the brain or bleeding within the brain during the two hours after an angry outburst.
It weakens your immune system. If you’re mad all the time, you just might find yourself feeling sick more often. In one study, Harvard University scientists found that in healthy people, simply recalling an angry experience from their past caused a six-hour dip in levels of the antibody immunoglobulin A, the cells’ first line of defense against infection.
Anger problem can make your anxiety worse. If you worry a lot, it’s important to note that anxiety and anger can go hand-in-hand. In a 2012 study published in the journal Cognitive Behavior Therapy, researchers found that anger can exacerbate symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), a condition characterized by an excessive and uncontrollable worry that interferes with a person’s daily life.
Anger is also linked to depression. Numerous studies have linked depression with aggression and angry outbursts, especially in men. “In depression, passive anger — where you ruminate about it but never take action — is common,” says Aiken. His No. 1 piece of advice for someone struggling with depression mixed with anger is to get busy and stop thinking so much.
Hostility can hurt your lungs: A group of Harvard University scientists studied 670 men over eight years using a hostility scale scoring method to measure anger levels and assessed any changes in the men’s lung function. The men with the highest hostility ratings had significantly worse lung capacity, which increased their risk of respiratory problems. The researchers theorized that an uptick in stress hormones, which are associated with feelings of anger, creates inflammation in the airways.
So guys, get a grip of your anger before for your health’s sake!!!
-Information Nigeria