Youth Incorporated Magazine

We have all dealt with anger in our lives in one way or another, in our relationships, at work, with families and occasionally to the odd telemarketing sales executive. Even your mom coming into your room unannounced can cause a virulent reaction for most! In any typical day in any city, one can experience a gamut of emotions, including anger, before lunchtime. You may have come across such people who always seem to have a displeased, resentful countenance with a belligerent disposition (just try the average autowallah in Mumbai). Unless you deal with your latent anger in healthy ways, you might be headed there too! So avoid those nasty face warts and make sure your temper is under control.

Why is it Important?

It’s not all about bursting a vein though; anger is a necessary part of life that allows us to react to aggression and protect ourselves. It can motivate people and allow them to express their feelings. Important for survival in the dog-eat-dog world, anger is a basic response hard-wired into our system in order to respond to aggressive threats. When you get angry, a host of chemicals are released into your nervous system from your brain, sharpening responses and releasing adrenalin into your system so you are geared up to fight. Importantly, however, you must channel your anger in healthy directions and express your position in an assertive manner. You must control your anger before it gains control of you. Internalising anger can lead to numerous associated health problems and passive-aggressive behaviour.

Physical Problems

• It leads to high blood pressure or hypertension, which has a host of associated physical problems. It can lead to poor cardiac health in the long-term.
• It also leads to heart palpitations and rise of the heartbeat, causing flushes and heatwaves.
• Daily anger-related stress can lead to sleeplessness, headaches, and even back problems.

Mental Problems

• If left untreated, in the long-term, anger can lead to severe depression.
• Severe restlessness and inability to concentrate arises from anger.
• Anger can lead to paranoia and feelings of being out of control. It becomes difficult to multitask and find perspective in the tunnel vision that is created by anger.

If you think you have an anger problem, follow these tips to get rid of it!

Get physical: Playing sports is a great way to manage one’s aggressive tendencies. It will certainly make you feel calmer and more focused. Kickboxing is great to get rid of excess energy. If you are not the sporty kind, sex works as well!

Therapy: Talking it out on the therapist’s couch can be helpful for those with long-term anger issues. Nothing beats a professional’s input for anger management. Just try shooting a pillow ala Robert De Niro in Analyze This!

Socialise: It is always important to have a healthy social life where one can relax in the company of friends. Try talking about major issues to get their inputs. Meditate: It has been proven by scientific studies that meditation and yoga help to calm the mind and improve one’s capacity to reason and function effectively. Meditation is a great exercise for those with hair-trigger tempers!

Laugh it off: Making jokes is a great way to diffuse any situation and to get back on track. Intense environments, angry and harsh words can have a negative effect on a partner or a colleague. Make a joke to alleviate your own stress and to focus on solving the problem at hand. Try changing your environment to get a breather if you don’t feel up to making a joke.

Anger is a normal emotion that flows in every human body, however, excess of it can create problems for your ownself. If you are a hot-headed person and are finding it difficult to control your anger, it’s high time you start working to improve it.