ANGER; ITS IMPACT ON HUMAN BODY

Abstract

Anger is one of our most powerful and vital emotions with behavioral manifestation. It is described as an intense feeling in response to frustration, hurt, disappointment, or threatening. The benefits of anger include overcoming fears and building confidence to counter dangerous phenomenon or threats which lead to the fight or flight response while the disadvantages of anger consist of excess anger serving as a numbing agent emotionally, physically, and cognitively. Physiologically, emotions are considered to commence from brain nucleus named as amygdale, part of brain responsible for identifying threats to our well-being, and relaying out an alarm when threats are identified that result in taking steps to protect ourselves. It is important to recognize the physiological effects of anger especially with all the damage this emotion might produce to our body system. This review article examines the physiology, causes of anger, and impact of anger on the body.

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Vol 4, Issue 5, 2017 ISSN- 2347-5544 Vol 4, Issue 5, 2017 ISSN- 2347-5544
ANGER; ITS IMPACT ON HUMAN BODY
PRAKASH KUMAR YADAV*, RAM LOCHAN YADAV, NIRAJ KHATRI SAPKOTA
Department of Physiology, Chitwan Medical College, Bharatpur, Nepal. Email: nirajkhatri22@yahoo.com
Received: 19 September 2016, Revised and Accepted: 23 September 2016
ABSTRACT
Anger is one of our most powerful and vital emotions with behavioral manifestation. It is described as an intense feeling in response to frustration,
hurt, disappointment, or threatening. The benefits of anger include overcoming fears and building confidence to counter dangerous phenomenon or
threats which lead to the fight or flight response while the disadvantages of anger consist of excess anger serving as a numbing agent emotionally,
physically, and cognitively. Physiologically, emotions are considered to commence from brain nucleus named as amygdale, part of brain responsible
for identifying threats to our well-being, and relaying out an alarm when threats are identified that result in taking steps to protect ourselves. It is
important to recognize the physiological effects of anger especially with all the damage this emotion might produce to our body system. This review
article examines the physiology, causes of anger, and impact of anger on the body.
Keywords: Anger, Emotion, Amygdala, Prefrontal cortex, Body system.
INTRODUCTION
Anger is one of our most powerful and vital emotions. It can be a
necessary tool for survival and can cause significant difficulties in
remained for long run persistently knocking mind associated with
thinking, feeling, behavior, and relationship [1]. It is an emotion that
involves a strong uncomfortable and awkward response to a perceived
provocation, hurt or threat [1]. When personal boundaries get
demolished than anger get aroused and some even show coping anger
can occur when a person feels their personal boundaries are being or
going to be violated. Some have a learned tendency to react to anger
through retaliation as a way of and some even show coping behavior.
Raymond Novaco of UC Irvine, since 1975 has published a plethora
of literature on the subject, layering anger into three modalities:
Cognitive (appraisal), somatic-affective (tension and agitations), and
behavioral (withdrawal and antagonism) [2]. William DeFoore, an
anger-management writer, described anger as an example of pressure
that can only be applied up to limit with time boundary if exceeded it
will burst and destroy everything [3].
A person experiencing anger will also activates emotional literacy to
any harmful disturbances that impacts on the different body system
resulting into alteration in physiological conditions, such as increased
heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and increased level of adrenaline
and noradrenalin due to sympathetic discharge that is matched
physiologically to cover up body systemic balance to fear, hurt or
sadness [4]. Some view anger as an emotion which triggers part of the
fight or flight response [5-7].
Anger is by nature a warning to protect on self from fear, sadness or
hurt cognitively or behaviorally or physiologically on the external
threatening exposure by action opted on choice such as facial
expressions, biological response and later public acts of aggression or
body language [6-8]. Animals, for example, make loud growling sounds,
physically become larger, bare and crush their teeth, and stare [9].
All these changes are made as a warning to stop aggressor to their
threatening behavior. Physical altercation is rare without the prior
expression of anger while most of those lose self-monitoring capacity
and observability [10].
Modern psychologists believes that anger has a functional value for
survival and is a primary, natural, and mature emotion felt by virtually
all humans at any moment can negatively affect personal or social well-
being [10,11] and impact negatively both on the body and in the mind if
it remained insidiously [12,13].
PHYSIOLOGY OF ANGER
Amygdala, the two almond-shaped structures that are located inside
the brain that is the point where emotion is evoked are efficient
in identifying and recognizing threat and relays alarm signal to
protect ourselves before the cortex (the intellectual, reasoning, and
judgment) [10]. In other words, neural networking is wired in such a
way that our reaction of thought was damned in a way so as to influence
to act before properly considering the consequences of actions. It does
not mean behaving badly is an excuse in public but practicing to control
aggressive impulses is appreciated, it means that learning to manage
anger properly is a skill that is always appraised, instead of something
one is born knowing how to do instinctually [14].
Anger can get provoked to highest degree to rage that be out of control
meaning left prefrontal cortex that handles judgment instinctively
regulate anger emotions in proportion, therefore, keeping anger
under control means learning ways to help your prefrontal cortex get
the upper hand over amygdala and hence minimizing or suppressing
anger reaction so that one have control in anger feeling. There are many
techniques to make prefrontal cortex supreme among the many ways to
make this happen one is relaxation techniques (which reduces arousal
and decrease amygdala activity) and the use of technique that controls
cognition under which help to practice using judgment to override
anger emotional reactions [15].
It is important to recognize the physiological effects of anger especially
with all the damage this emotion can cause to our body. It is also
important to learn how to express anger appropriately and learn healthy
and socially respectful methods to express angry feelings. Knowing how
to control anger can make a major impact on relationships, employment,
and other family problem [15].
WHAT CAUSES ANGER?
Surrounding publicly polluted environment always play an important
role to elicit ones anger along with other factors such as socio-economic
situations, overwhelming nature, genetic issue, and neurotransmitter
depletion such as serotonin has pivotal role in managing anger [16],
It is attributed to past experience low, learned behavior, genetic
predispositions and diminished decision or problem-solving ability [16].
Review Article

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Innovare Journal of Health Sciences, Vol 5, Issue 1, 2017, 3-5
Yadav et al.
According to Loo, an experienced negotiator and an expert in conflict
resolution, there are two sources of anger: Insidious and outer source,
earlier one stems from irrational perceptions of reality, and low
frustration point. Psychologists have put forward four types of thinking
that lead to internal sources of anger:
• Emotionalreasoning:Somepeopleinnocentandemotionallyreason
and often become irritated and apprehend these things as attacks
on themselves [16].
• Lowfrustrationtolerance:Experienceoflowtolerancetofrustration
is inevitable in everyone life at some point. Assertion is stress-related
anxiety tends to lower our tolerance.
• Unreasonableexpectations:Insomeoccasion,peoplemakedemands
unnecessarily without knowing the exactness of the condition.
Unable to have things go their way or have others act a certain
way, lowers the tolerance for frustration and causes people to get
frustrated and angry [16].
• People-rating:Reasontocause angertriggersderogatorylabeling,
dehumanizes and makes it easier become angry at other people [16].
As for extrinsic sources, psychologists have come up with hundreds
of events which cause people to get angry and assembled the point as
below:
• Verbalabuseonewayofattacksagainstotherpeople
• Confrontingwith cut and paste of anotheridea,opinionand
downcasting it
• Peoplethreaten other people’s basic needs family, life, workand
another thing, etc.
• Duetoenvironmentalfactorsintheirlives,theirleveloftolerance
toward frustration diminishes.
Both external and internal sources of play an important role in terms
of anger issue recognizing and thence resolving is vital for smooth
continuation, though following factors invariably tends to lower
frustration tolerance level [17].
• Stress/anxiety
• Pain-physicalandemotional
• Drugs/alcohol
• Recentirritations-“Havingabadday.”
HOW ANGER IMPACTS THE BODY
Many biological reaction jump up as one get angry, the changes is
brought in the body is due to brain neural activating system such as
noradrenergic system release brush of catecholamine that has systemic
effect such depicted as an alteration in physiology such as acceleration
of heart, rising of blood pressure, and rate of respiration as well as
flushing of face due to increased blood flow attributed to physical action
in addition that energizes musculature to brush with energy lasting up
to several minutes so-called adrenaline rush which is executed to take
an immediate protective action of angry desire energizing the level that
one become ready to fight due to adrenaline rush [14].
Experiencing psychological effects of anger causes chemical as well as
hormonalimbalancethatresultsintoalterationin body’smetabolism,
sometimes excessive feeling stressed, and anger provokes eating that it
leads to weight gain. In addition, stress, as a reaction to anger, provokes
our stomach parietal cell to produce too much acid making us victim
of gastric ulcers and gastrooesophageal reflux disease [15], anger state
being one of the stressful conditions releases stress hormone cortisol
which contribute to deplete glucose uptake and increase its availability
in the blood thus playing role to disturb the balance of blood sugar level,
on the contrary the same glucose will be effective in facing with stressful
situation by providing it to heart and brain as an immediate energy
source. Moreover, this stress hormone suppress thyroid function hence
one can have hypothyroid symptoms during progressing exacerbated
stressful situation, decrease bone density and suppresses Immune
system making one more susceptible to get infection at the moment
of stressful condition. Research have demonstrated that chronic-angry
peoplearemore susceptibleandsufferfrequentcolds, flu’sinfections,
asthma, skin disease flare-ups, and arthritis, as compared to non-
chronic-angry people [15].
Fear also sometimes can trigger anger multitude of response will be
on action so-called domino effect as similar to aforementioned state
stress hormone cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline will be released
thatsurgeupbloodpressure(normalaveragebloodpressure120/80
that can jump up to 220/130) or higher that fearsof possible heart
attackorstroke),heartrate(normal70-80beat/minbutduringanger
it can rise up to 180) muscle tense up which are actively involved in
fight and flight response escalate respiratory rate that tries to get more
oxygen in the circulation so as to supply to heart and brain. Further
worsening can lead to tension headaches, insomnia, chest pain, and
even stroke [15].
When we become angry or stressed, our body releases chemicals that
clot the blood. These blood clots can create serious health problems.
The clots can travel up the blood vessels thus reaching brain or heart
causing a stroke or heart attack, both of which can be fatal [15].
MECHANISM OF PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (PSNS)
VERSUS SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (SNS) IN ANGER
RESPONSE
PSNS releases the neurotransmitter acetylcholine to prevent arousal of
the emotion of anger by neutralizing stress hormone so that body can
relax and calm down. People with dominating PSNS are under less risk
of heart disease this concludes that people with Type A personalities
are higher in risk of heart disease duets their weaker PSNS responses
with less life time period in relaxation [16,17].
Evidenced of anger being hazardous to health
A review documented based on 44 studies published in 2009 in the
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, disclosing connection
demonstrating anger and hostility being significantly associated with
cardiac disease also revealing the secrecy that adults without history of
heart disease, but incessantly having chronic anger are 19% more likely
to develop heart problems as compared to those who rarely experience
these personality traits [18]. It also depicted gender wise difference
in heart problem suggesting more effect would be to men linking the
fact that women stress and pressure on daily life be less compared to
men [18,19].
According to Dr. Johan Denollet from CoRPS Researcher Center at Ilburg
University in the Netherlands, Coronary Heart Disease Development
and Progression is associated with psychological elements. Therefore,
clinician are suggested to take symptoms of anger and hostility seriously,
and do not ignore to consider referring their patient to relevant health
expert for their behavioral intervention preceding to, close monitoring
and studying the personality traits of the patient to do a better job in
identifying high-risk patients who are more liable to future fatal and
non-fatal coronary events [20] the most difficult aspect of it is the stress
unmeasurable as cholesterol or sugar as it is a behavioral subjective
trait that depend on moods [18].
Freidman and Rosenman classified Type A and Type B attitude
personalities, being early one are those who exhibit immediate anger
and demonstrate explosive reactivity, competiveness, impatience,
irritability, hostility and more likely to display aggressive and
competitive personality traits and to achieve great professional success
while later one personalities, have a more easygoing attitude toward
life [17,18]. Physiologically studies demonstrated that men with Type A
personalities depicted relatively lower parasympathetic (calm down)
response than Type B personalities. Thus, with the conclusion that
Type A personalities people exhibit arousal and invokes heavy anger
responses by overflowing the body with cortisol, adrenaline and
noradrenaline due to reactivity of SNS [19,20].

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Yadav et al.
CONCLUSION
Anger is described as an intense sentiment in response to feeling
frustrated, hurt, disappointed, or respond to disturbance or threats that
evokes the fight or flight response while disadvantage of anger consist
of excess anger serving as a deadening agent physically, emotionally
and cognitively, failure to recognize and understand our levels of anger
leads to many serious health problems. Overall, suppressing anger and
overexpression of anger can negatively affect the body and lead to bad
health. It is important to learn how to express anger appropriately and
learn healthy and socially respectful methods to express angry feelings.
Managing anger effectively motivates individuals to adopt effective
assertive skills and leads to an increase in life expectancy. It is important
to recognize the physiological effects of anger especially with all the
damage this emotion can cause to our body. Knowing how to control
anger can make a major impact on our relationships, employment, and
especially on our health.
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