What anger does to the brain?

Anger is a normal emotion that most people experience at points in life. It gets a bad reputation as being useless or “poison,” but anger actually serves some positive purposes. All emotions are a form of communication. They let us know what we feel about a particular event or situation, and they can prompt us to change situations that aren’t helpful to us or others. Anger is often the starting point for recognizing when a boundary is crossed or when an injustice has occurred. This can lead us to positive action in many situations.

Anger gets its bad reputation because of its link with aggression, which is the physical embodiment that some people turn to when feeling anger. Slamming doors, throwing things, or even getting into physical fights can spring from the aggression that anger may prompt in some people. This behavior is often hurtful to others and may even damage the person experiencing the aggression themselves.

Every emotion has a physiological response in the body, and anger is no exception. The process we go through when experiencing anger is the stress response or fight or flight response cycle. When we encounter a situation that creates the emotion of anger, a process begins to unfold. First, the amygdala activates, sometimes before you even have a chance to think, “Wow! This makes me angry!” The amygdala then activates the hypothalamus, which is involved in stress control and regulating the endocrine system and pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is activated by the hypothalamus, which causes the release of stress hormones. The pituitary gland activates the adrenal glands, which secrete adrenaline into the body.

This process causes a suppression of the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that makes logical sense of things and helps inform decisions. Short-term memory can also be affected by the physiological process of anger as the hormones released during the process suppress activity in the hippocampus, which impacts memory.

Anger can also contribute to chronic stress, which can have negative impacts on overall health. The management of stress and anger is vital to overall health and wellbeing. Meditation, regular exercise, eating well, and stress-busting practices like mindfulness and yoga can all help manage stress and anger. Talk with your doctor or licensed mental health professional if you’re struggling with managing stress, anger, or aggression.