Anger and Health

On this page: Anger and Health - effects of anger on our body. Anger and depression. Points to cause of anger, tips on how to deal with anger.

To counter the ill effects of anger, there are plenty of free anger management techniques on this website, including links to anger management worksheets and games.

While the relationship between anger and health is not necessarily all bad, the effect of prolonged and chronic temper on our body is definitely more bad, than otherwise.

Learning about the negative effects of anger on our health may help us put things a little more under perspective, and our temper a little more under control.

"Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep."
-Mahatma Gandhi

It is quite natural to be upset or angry, from time to time, over stuff that happens in our lives. It may be a relief to know that such annoyances and frustrations rarely do us any harm.

It is the frequently recurring kind, that occurs even on trivialities; and the resentment that is held inside us for prolonged periods of time.

These two kinds of anger help sustain the stress hormones released inside our system, for long and extended duration of time.

And that is what harms our bodies in the long run, sometimes irrevocably. Here is what they can do to us:

• Increase our blood pressure, and possibly increase the cholesterol levels as well. These two factors significantly increase our risk for heart disease.
• Weaken our immune system, causing frequent occurrence of sickness ranging from common cold to head aches and digestive issues.
• Kill us soon, literally - there is research suggesting that persons with consistent, prolonged levels of anger have a five times higher chance of never reaching the age of 50.
• Anxiety disorders, depression and other mental health issues. Interestingly, a study reports that angry women are more likely to be subject to such mental health issues, while angry men are more likely to run into physical health issues.
• And last but not the least, anger can drive us to other habits and addictions which adversely affect our health as well, like smoking and alcohol.
  

Practicing simple anger management tips on a daily basis will go a long way in ensuring that we learn to keep our temper at bay, and minimize our likelihood of being subjected to these negative effects of anger.

Little or occasional irritations don't hurt us much; but learning to control it helps us take the elementary steps needed to acquire the much larger skill of NOT becoming a slave to recurring, uncontrollable anger which directly affects our health.

The course developed by licensed psychotherapists and anger management experts, is based on educational and cognitive-behavioral approach, and provides an official Certificate of Completion.

Ways to Control Anger

Anger Management Books

Audio Books