Catch yourself feeling angry sometimes? If you answered yes, you’re not alone. According to a USA Today report, 60% of American adults report feeling angry or irritable. Among American teens, a study from Harvard Medical School reports that two out of three adolescents have experienced “anger attacks,” involving threatening violence and the destruction of property. Almost everyone deals with anger from time to time; however, when unchecked the emotion can not only cause friction with others, but also negatively impact your physical and emotional health. While it’s common for Americans to express their anger, the destructive nature of the emotion makes it extremely important for everyone to learn how to deal with it effectively.
So, what exactly is anger? According to a PBS report, it is an emotional reaction to any perceived threat to us, those close to us or any other part of our identity. Anger is a “warning bell” which indicates to us that something is wrong. The report states that anger has three components: physical reactions such as an increased heart rate and blood pressure; cognitive or how we think about the thing that makes us angry; and behavior, which involves the way we express our anger. According to the Better Health Channel, anger triggers the body’s “fight or flight” response which leads to the short-term increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Furthermore, over time the constant release of stress-related chemicals into the blood stream can lead to other short-term health issues such as headaches and digestion problems. Unmanaged or poorly managed anger has also been linked to several long-term health issues such as depression, stroke and heart attack. In fact, WebMD reports that frequent anger significantly raises a person’s risk of heart disease.
People often ask Sadhguru for advice on dealing with their emotions. Below, we’ve shared a video excerpt from a live program, where Sadhguru addresses anger:
How will you apply Sadhguru’s insight into anger to your life? Share with us below!
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Richar Krug September 2, 2014 at 11:04 pmI will apply Sadhguru's advice on anger by maintaining awareness in my body and consciously choosing my emotional state.
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chris September 3, 2014 at 3:36 pmI will focus on peace not let anger become me when driving,when in lines at the store every where Take more control of mind .
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Mahtab September 10, 2014 at 11:43 amI try to take more control on my mind every moment ,,
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george September 10, 2014 at 1:26 pmi am choosing to be more peaceful, more patient, less demanding of myself and others :)
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Larryb September 10, 2014 at 4:34 pmThe purpose of anger seems to be to produce enough adrenaline to have a maximum response to perceived threats against our lives, selves, values, loved ones, etc. In this case a little poisoning in the system is a trade off for an energetic defense - and helpful to human survival overall (like most of our emotions). But as Sadhguru says, steering clear of trivial causes of anger is the best strategy to avoid an unpleasant, destructive and unhealthy life. Living a spiritual life (where the ego is dissolving and compassion increasing) ultimately makes the ego less attackable and less all important. And this does help us steer clear from the most trivial causes of anger. At least it's worked that way for me - who's (not) enjoyed a lifetime of hard to control anger.
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