No matter how calm and peaceful you think you are, we all have moments of anger. This isn’t always a bad thing of course, sometimes anger is a perfectly normal response to a situation.
Often though, that anger (justified or not) comes back to haunt us. This is especially true if we don’t know how to manage or deal with it.
No matter what set you off, anger can be problematic in a few different ways.
Here are 3 major ways that anger harms you:
Anger Negatively Affects Your Mood
No matter how good you are at controlling your anger, there is a chance that it is going to negatively affect you. Have you ever been so angry that you couldn’t shake the feeling? The longer you struggle with anger, the more chance any little thing will set you off.
Harboring anger will also make you more prone to losing focus. It is hard to focus on tasks and goals when you are consumed with anger. Have you ever tried to get some work done when you were still stewing with anger? It isn’t easy.
Anger Negatively Affects Your Health
Anger can even physically affect you in the form of headaches, chest pains and increasing your cortisol (stress hormone).
When your anger leads to stress, it can be hard to control. You will be more likely to perceive benign actions as threats. This triggers more anger, which again triggers more stress. You will be trapped in an emotional cycle that is hard to break.
Anger has even been shown to affect our healing! According to a study from Ohio State University, people who can’t control their anger tended to heal more slowly. Another study from Harvard showed that high rates of anger lead to breathing problems, and higher rates of decline as they aged.
Anger Negatively Affects Others
There are few things more awkward and uncomfortable being as being around an angry person. Even if other people aren’t the target of your anger, you will still likely be short or dismissive of them.
Have you ever lashed out at someone for no (or little) reason? If so, then your anger is negatively impacting the people around you.
Anger isn’t a valve that we can just shut off, but it is something that we can manage. If your anger is affecting you in negative ways, then it is time for you to sit down and figure out ways you can deal with it.
