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ANGER: Healthy or Unhealthy?

10/20/2013

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Anger is a primitive emotion that has a survival benefit and purpose.  The response is rather automatic once our minds conclude that we are in danger - we go into “fight or flight” mode.  This, of course, is protective.

In our current culture, does this anger response still serve a legitimate purpose?  YES!  There is still danger, but too often our anger becomes misplaced when we raise the level of importance of things beyond what is reasonable.  For example, the violence among fans at sporting events or my yelling at the TV when LSU loses to Ole Miss!

There are still social issues and human behaviors that would be better changed (ex: child abuse, discrimination, etc.) and to do so
means having some passion for action.  Without our having a response in opposition or in support of alternative beliefs/behaviors, many good causes would go unnoticed/ unaddressed.  ANGER serves a purpose and that is it motivates to action to right what one thinks is wrong.

The key for this segment is that there is healthy anger and unhealthy anger – the level of emotional energy adequate to address the
wrong within our legitimate authority vs. the level of emotional energy that motivates a response to the wrong that exceeds our legitimate authority.  To illustrate: (1) law enforcement has legitimate authority to enforce the law, but does not have legitimate authority to do it in a way that uses more force than necessary and (2) a parent can discipline their child legitimately, but does not have legitimate authority to
discipline someone else’s child or to discipline their own in a harmful manner.  One final example and point: I may not like a particular law or political climate, but my legitimate authority to address it rests within the bounds of our legal system and process for changing laws.  If I spend a great deal of emotional energy just being angry, lashing out at others around me, refusing to be happy in any situation, can do nothing but complain about my displeasure, etc., then I am likely to do myself harm (personally, physically and interpersonally) by being unhealthily angry.  On the other hand, maybe I use that energy to run for office or speak to groups of people at appointed times in order to influence thinking while being able to manage that emotional energy such that I can appropriately enjoy and engage in other meaningful
activities.

We have no business getting angrier than is necessary to do something within our legitimate authority and power about wrongs we perceive.  Accepting what we do not have the power to change does not mean that we like it or that we are just giving up.  We can be
displeased, disappointed and/or agitated while we seek to find a solution, but govern/ redirect that emotional energy to engage in other areas of life where we find pleasure, satisfaction and/or meaning.  We are going to get angry! So, let’s do it constructively!
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ANGER: Could Be Hazardous to Your Health

10/8/2013

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“Anger is not good or bad; it depends on your reaction to it.” 
 
I submit that this view will get you into trouble, but it is essentially what many of us are taught in that we are to control our angry behavior and even turn the other cheek.  A display of anger is considered bad manners at the very least and usually is embarrassing or creates more trouble for us.

When we or others behaviorally display anger we generally think of that as having “lost control”, so we do our best to retreat into civilized behavior, but the anger remains and is then internally destructive and may eventually be overtly manifested when the pressure “blows the lid off”.  The controlling of behavior is not such a bad thing, but trying to keep the lid on or ignoring the underlying anger can be.

This internal anger can not only eat away at our psychological well-being, but our physical well-being. If we do not resolve the anger, we may stay in a state of constant preparedness which can eventually have an adverse physiological affect in the form of hypertension, heart problems, ulcers, stroke, etc.

Cromie, William J. Anger Can Break Your Heart: A Hostile Heart Is a Vulnerable Heart, Harvard News Office, 2006.
In this news report, they note a study of 1305 men with an average age of 62 that indicated that angrier men had a three-fold increased  risk of heart disease and another study of 1055 medical students over a period of 36 years that indicated a six-fold increased risk of having a heart attack by 55 for those with anger problems.

I will discuss more about anger in future Counselor's Corner spots where we will learn more about how to make anger work for you and how to be less vulnerable to these potential emotional, social and physiological negative consequences.  It really is more than just controlling the overt behavioral reaction.  Stay tuned!

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