Anger is such a talented emotion. It has the ability to tempt you, draw you in, get you excited, speed up your heart, pump your adrenaline, and give your mind something to process.
Anger is like a drug. It releases chemicals called catecholamines into your brain that gives you energy and overrides your impulse control. It is addictive, because it feels real. Some people only feel truly alive when they are angry.
But here is the down side. It wears out your heart (real heart—cardio/vascular), over-stimulates your nervous system, and releases and overproduction of chemicals into your gut that can throw your entire metabolic system into chaos.
That’s not even the worst of it. Chronic anger has been linked to heart problems, high blood pressure, skin disorders, headaches, and digestive problems such as ulcers. Most doctors/therapists will say that you need to let it out. Spend that pent-up negative energy before it has a chance to damage your health.
Turns out, that may not be the best idea either. Anger feeds on itself. The more you think about the thing that makes you mad, the madder you will become. Often when you act on those feelings, the action will trigger the inability to maintain control. Furthermore, in a state of anger, a person’s thinking is less clear. This is a condition that encourages swift action without the ability to make sound decisions. In addition to destroying our bodies, we may be destroying our own lives , as well as the relationships that we most need.
So, what is the solution? I don’t have an easy answer. I struggle with this myself, but I do have some ideas that make sense and work pretty well for me.
1. When someone or some situation makes me mad and my brain starts churning up all those negative thoughts, I try to shut it down as quickly as I recognize what is happening. A good way to do this is to have a bible verse or quote already memorized. I will repeat the line to myself until I can think more clearly. Here are the two I use most often.
a. If you are patient in one moment of anger,
you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
– Chinese Proverb
b. That ye love one another; as I have loved you (Jesus) John 13:34
2. After I have settled down and can think more rationally, I remind myself that I am never alone. I just lean into the knowledge that I was created by Divine Love. I may not immediately act very loving, but that Love will carry me through. I will be okay.
3. If you feel yourself losing control, take a deep, slow breath and whisper, “I give this to you, God.” Then seriously let go of it and see what God can do.
I hope this helped someone.
Please comment below if you have any helpful hints in this area.
Have a blessed day!
Amazing Journey 
I had so much anger for over 20 years. I actually wrote about it in the first post on my new blog. Ugh, it created so many issues! Thank you for the post.
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Thank you so much for encouragement! Be blessed!
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Laura, This post is so relevant in today’s world! Anger is a flag…it points to a deeper issue of the heart. I heard one time the intensity of the anger is directly proportionate to the depth of the pain. It’s like a red flag saying, ” Look here for the deeper issue of the heart.” Betrayal sparks anger, which covers the hurt of abandonment. In our country there is a mountain of hurt underneath all the anger and until it is addressed in one way or another the anger will just get worse. Fortunately there are those, like you, who write about the problem instead of stirring it up. Forgiveness is the answer, but it is hard to do. 🙂
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thanks so much for your comments. It’s funny, but when I just try to work out and share my own problems, they often translate into larger issues. I guess that’s how it should be when you have a purpose. Thanks for your support!
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I have been an angry person and relate to this so much. I do two things to mitigate the anger: 1) I try to recognize when it is there and just walk through it, like a wave. Sometimes I actually laugh when I get through. This is harder for me to do when I am really angry.
2) Every morning in bed I try to think of three things I am grateful for. I make at least one an odd item. Like, I am glad we weren’t able to get to the store yesterday, because I got to talk to a friend at home…. See the positive parts of life. Let go.
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