Q: I have been more angry than usual lately at everything. I am worried about how this is effecting my health. What can I do to lessen this anger?
A: Anger is intensely, primally physical, and one o the most difficult impulses to control because of its evolutionary value in priming us to defend against danger. Anger is also a mask for fear and that is what our world seems to be feeling a lot of these days.
For optimal health to come out of this, you have to address your anger as you are as the first step. When anger becomes chronic, cortisol, the stress hormone, contributes to its slow burn. Remaining in this condition makes you edgy, quick to snap, and the instinct to fight or fight, depending on your coping style in the situation. A Johns Hopkins Medical Center study reports that young men who habitually react to stress with anger are more likely than their counterparts to have an early heart attack, even without a family history of heart disease.
One solution can be to cultivate self-compassion and compassion for others as it can improve your health and biologically reprogram your approach to anger by training you to view this emotion differently. You have to ask yourself how can you be kind to yourself when angry rather than to react vindictively when in an argument with someone or reacting to something you heard or witnessed.
This leap of consciousness subdues the fight-or-flight response, calms your nervous system and you gain longevity and optimal health. It’s not that this doesn’t take some practice, it does. Just by becoming more aware and wanting to make a shift, you can and the health benefits are worth it. It also helps to breath and slowly count to 10. Take a cooling off period by listening to soothing music, take a warm bath, meditate and do some aerobic exercise or yoga to expel anger from your system and wind down. When you use these tools on a regular basis, you can diffuse your anger and increase your self-compassion and that of others.