How Anger Makes You Sick

 Most of us know by now that stress and anger have a negative impact on our overall health and wellbeing. Not only do these emotions affect our emotional health and sense of peace, but they also affect our bodies on a very physical level. When we get angry a host of physiological responses take place in our bodies and these changes have longer lasting effects.

Getting angry first leads to a raise in the heart rate. We've all felt it. Our heart starts pounding as we start to get ever more enraged. This faster heart rate then leads to arterial tension and an increase in testosterone production. Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, actually decreases temporarily at this time, while the brain's left hemisphere becomes increasingly engaged.

According to researchers at the University of Valencia, however, these physiological changes produce radical changes in the body's autonomous nervous system. The nervous system controls the cardiovascular and the endocrine systems. Anger also brings about changes to the brain's functions, particularly in the temporal lobes.

Participants in the study were induced to anger through the use of a system of anger induction. This system involved the use of phrases that mirrored common daily situations that angered people. Before and after the use of these phrases, researchers took measurements of the tension and heart rate of the participants, cortisol and testosterone levels, and brain activation.

The findings were published then in the journal Hormones and Behavior. The results showed quite strickingly that anger had not only a negative effect on the mind and psychological well being, but also an effect on heart rate, arteries and hormone production.

Because anger provokes such strong physiological responses in our bodies, it has very definite effects on our health. Getting angry frequently can lead to chronic stress and poor health. Anger carries a negative energy charge which dampens the body's ability to respond to sickness and disease. If you can learn to relax a little more and learn techniques to help you deal with your anger you'll be doing your body and mind a great service. Staying angry will eventually make you sick and this will hardly make it easier to promote a happy state of mind. So, before it comes to this, take a breath and think about whether an angry outburst is really worth your health!