What is anger?
All human beings to a greater or lesser extent have been touched by this emotional state, to live is to experience a multitude of emotional states and anger is no exception. But beyond that, do we really know what happens in our body when this emotion is present? in this article we present the main characteristics and effects on our body.
Enjoy this journey through our emotional universe!
Anger is the thrill of struggle and defense, and can in some cases block conflict by intimidating the other. In our ancestors and in social animals, anger was part of the resolution of conflicts to the submission of one of the parties. To some extent, anger serves us to control and change certain situations, to punish those who have hurt us and to set a limit on them. Great changes in society are happening and have happened because of feelings of anger, anger and outrage.
The experience of anger increases with age due to cognitive development and the affections they produce.
It is often exacerbated when it is not necessary, with consequences at a physiological and behavioral level, as the pulse is accelerated, the heart beats fast and the breath is agitated; but it also leads to everyone around feeling uncomfortable, frightened, afraid and wanting to get away, because surely nobody wants to relate to a person who breaks out of control and says or does things that are hard to forget.
How does anger look on your face?
The micro-expression of anger is mainly concentrated in the upper part of the face, where we go down and join the eyebrows with the frowning brow. We tend to tighten and tighten the mouth, slightly separating the lips and squeezing the teeth. The gaze penetrates.
What brain substances are involved in this process?
Anger releases noradrenaline (a hormone that increases blood pressure and heart rate) and dopamine, at the same time as glutamate, and there is a decrease in serotonin and vasopressin levels
What are the consequences of anger?
Elevated heart rate, which causes tachycardia. Increased production of chemicals such as adrenaline, which alters the body’s natural balance. Imbalance of the immune system. Manifestation of contractures, muscle aches and headaches.
1. Think before you speak.
The second ideas are usually better than the first ones, in a state of anger, it is better to stop and wait for the second ideas than to let go of the first that this emotion presents us, which in most cases does not contribute anything to the solution, but rather throws more fuel into the fire. Think about what consequences will that mean?
2. Once you calm down, express your anger.
Distancing yourself from the situation is a good alternative to not hurt or make things worse, going somewhere else and taking a deep breath will allow you to clarify things and with a cool head, express what annoys you and propose some solutions.
3. Take some time to think.
My father always told me, when you have an important decision, think about it with the pillow! By this he meant, that reflecting on the reasons why I want to do something, will shed light on my true intentions; I recommend my clients to write them down, and after calming their spirits, read them out loud, in most cases, we’ll see that What drove us was the irrationality typical of this emotion, the desire for revenge or some other less altruistic motivation, typical of anger, which, as we saw earlier, is aimed at destroying or putting limits. (The second would be its positive side) but often the desire for destruction is what makes it so dangerous for our personal and Interpersonal relationships. So give yourself a space, let the days reveal truths that the hours do not know and then with the clarity left time acts.
5. Identify possible solutions.
The biggest problem of anger episodes is their practical uselessness, we tend to fall into complaints, rumination (speaking to ourselves between teeth) and this generates that the counterpart against attack and we end up in a competition to see who is right or not, a power struggle that leaves us emotionally exhausted and with psychological wounds that in many cases are irreversible. Therefore, the best way is emotional honesty in the first person, that is to express what I think about an attitude or situation, without falling into value judgments against the other person; and then to silver solutions, to find between the two parties ways of communion that bring benefits to both. A win win, in order to prosper.
Bibliography:
Lieberman, H. R., Thompson, L. A., Caruso, C. M., Niro, P. J., Mahoney, C. R., McClung, J. P., & Caron, G. R. (2015). The catecholamine neurotransmitter precursor tyrosine increases anger during exposure to severe psychological stress. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 232 (5):943-51. doi: 10.1007/s00 213-014-3727-7