How Does Anger Affect Your Body?

Anger affects your body in a myriad of ways. As an intense emotional state, anger will often create specific changes in the body. For instance, certain neurotransmitters such as adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) are released into the bloodstream. Adrenaline will create certain physiological changes; increased heart rate, muscles receiving more blood flow, changes in respiration, and mentally will make you more alert.

In the short term, there is nothing wrong with these various biological changes. However, if someone has an angry temperament and these physiological changes occur frequently, that person runs the risk of both increasing their blood pressure over the long-term, as well as impacting their cardiac vigor.

At the same time, anger, much like stress, will impact a person’s immune system. Anger is a type of stressor, and any stress taxes the immune system to a certain degree. Someone who is constantly angry is overstressing their resistance to fight viruses and harmful complications. This issue is further exacerbated by insomnia, a common symptom for people who struggle with anger. Sleep is often a time when the body repairs itself.

Since anger is a type of stressor, it will impact brain function as well. People who struggle with anger report experiencing issues with brain fog; having difficulty focusing and remembering. Headaches are a common complaint among extremely angry people. Anger can also impact the brain’s ability to regulate emotional states in general.

Finally, anger affects the body via muscle tension. When people are continually angry about something or towards someone, the muscles become tense. This can lead to issues such as back pain, poor posture, and poor joint health.      

All these issues coming together can impact a long life if one is not cognizant of their anger. A good way to control the physiological changes from becoming angry is to breathe while counting to ten slowly. This will also give you a certain amount of time to pause and reflect on what makes you angry. If you struggle with constant anger, this may be a sign of poor mental health; contact a mental health professional to discuss ways to mitigate this issue.