Anger is an emotion that involves a strong uncomfortable and awkward response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. Anger, like other emotions, has layers and can be experienced in three different ways; cognition via an appraisal of the situation; bodily experience via tension and agitations; and, behavioural via withdrawal or antagonism.
Although anger is a natural adaptive reaction, it can become harmful and interfere with your ability to cope successfully with various challenges and/or stressful events, and prolonged experiences of anger can even alter your body composition.
What happens in my body when I become angry?
When you start to feel angry your amygdala becomes activated. The amygdala is also known as the primitive brain and its sole interest is in preserving life. So, when it becomes activated, it is preparing to defend your life, even if it is not your life that is in imminent danger.
The activation of the amygdala activates the hypothalamus, and the hypothalamus starts secreting cortico-tropin-releasing hormone (CRH) which then activates the pituitary gland. The main role of the hypothalamus is to keep the body in a healthy and balanced internal state (homeostasis) as much as possible and that is what it is trying to do when it recognises the amygdala is activated.
The pituitary gland starts secreting adrenocortical-tropic hormone (ACTH) and activates the adrenal glands. The pituitary gland is called the ‘master gland’ and it works to maintain an appropriate environment throughout the body so everything can function optimally.
The adrenal glands start to secrete stress hormones like cortisol, adrenalin and noradrenaline. The adrenal gland produces hormones that help control heart rate, blood pressure, and other important body functions.
All of this happens automatically once you start to experience anger or derivatives of it like disappointment, frustration, judgement, rejection and fear. It is the response to anger from your body that compromises long-term health if you are unable to manage your anger in a healthy way.
What happens to your body when you are angry
From the Neuroscience of Anger
How prolonged bouts of anger can change your body
Essentially when you become angry, it leads to a flood of cortisol in your body, and it is the level of cortisol that is harmful to your health.
Cortisol is not stored in your body, your body produces it in response to a perceived stressful situation, in an effort to deal with it. This all takes time and as a result, there is also a delay in stopping the production and release of cortisol when the threat has gone away.
Too much cortisol can encourage neuron receptors to take on too much calcium through their membrane causing the cells to die too quickly.
Too much cortisol can lead to a loss of neurons in the pre-frontal cortex. This can negatively impact your decision-making and planning skills.
Elevated levels of cortisol can negatively impact short-term memory and the creation of new memories. This explains why often in a heated argument it is hard to recall exactly what is said.
Elevated levels of cortisol also lead to low levels of serotonin. Lower levels of serotonin may make it easier for you to feel pain and anger and it could also explain increases in aggressive behaviour when you have been experiencing prolonged periods of stress.
High levels of cortisol can cause chemical and hormonal imbalances that can lead to changes in your body’s metabolism. Feeling stressed can lead to eating behaviours that promote weight gain or worse, gastric ulcers or gastroesophageal reflux.
Increased cortisol can lead to decreased glucose uptake, increasing glucose in your bloodstream.
Excess cortisol suppresses thyroid function explaining why you can have hypothyroid symptoms during progressing exacerbated stressful situations. It also leads to decreased bone density and a suppressed immune system making you more susceptible to infections during stressful times.
According to Dr. Wittstein, an expert in stress cardiomyopathy, “Rage can have effects on the arteries that supply blood to the heart, it can have an effect on the electrical system specifically that tells the heart when to beat, and it can have an effect specifically on the heart muscle itself,” he said.
Conclusion
Overall, suppressing anger or the overexpression of anger can negatively affect your body and lead to compromised health in the longer term. It is important to learn how to express anger appropriately and learn healthy and socially respectful methods to express your angry feelings. It can be done. Adopting assertiveness skills to effectively manage your anger can lead to increased life expectancy.
If you are keen to better manage your anger, book in a free discovery call where we can discuss your experience of anger and how to better manage it so it does not negatively impact your health, career or relationships.
Related posts:
- Getting to know your anger triggers
- Self-directed anger can be more harmful than other forms of anger
- Anger: A misunderstood emotion
- Feeling angry and menopausal? Here’s what you can do
- Never worry about anger again
