Do you remember the Incredible Hulk? Dr. Bruce Banner was a mild mannered man, going from town to town doing good deeds. Then he’d cross paths with someone who would antagonize and assault him. We all know what happened when he got angry.
His face turned beet red, his eyes popped out, and the vein in his forehead started throbbing. Then he transformed into the green monster known as the Incredible Hulk. After the Hulk flipped a few cars over, he returned back to his former self.
Researchers have discovered that it isn’t only the Incredible Hulk that suffers from anger related changes and outbursts. Anyone who is angry also undergoes these bodily changes.
Our body can tell us about aspects of our life that are important to us that need to be attended to. We know that a growling stomach means hunger, or a yawn can mean exhaustion. If we ignore these warning signs from our body then the body takes over. We collapse from hunger or fatigue. Anger is part of your own physiology, and influences your health and well-being. Yet what is anger really, and what kind of control do we have over becoming angry?
Basically, anger occurs when the body is exposed to something it perceives as threatening. Some important value, person, possession, or goal may be threatened and we are not aware of it at a conscious level, but our body alerts us to this perceived danger, so you can stop it from happening.
If you find it difficult to notice or name what you or others are feeling, it may help to pay attention to the body. The whole purpose of the anger is to enable humans to survive. For example, if a pit bull came after you, your body would need to do certain things for you to survive.
Anger is a survival response. People’s hands get cold because the blood leaves the extremities, in case a dog might bite them off. This basically protects the body’s blood supply, and also the blood needs to go to specific places. The rapid heartbeat, upset stomach, headaches, muscle tension, shortness of breath, flushed face, sweaty forehead, fidgety legs that occur when angry, is how your body lets you know it’s time to make a choice for urgent action.
Anger causes the human body to trigger the “fight or flight” response. This is a hardwired and fast reaction, in which the body gets literally ready to attack or to flee. In this automatic, instinctual routine, hormones pump rapidly through the body; the pupils dilate; the heart rate quickens; breathing becomes rapid and shallow, digestion slows down; sweat gland activity is increased and blood and oxygen drain from the brain into the larger muscles preparing them for rapid movement.
Notice the last part of the previous sentence: “and blood and oxygen drain from the brain…” This part is very important for understanding “why I do it” (get angry and yell). Stress, anger, fear–all can overwhelm the brain depriving it of oxygen, which totally shuts down our ability to think. When this emotional flooding occurs, we literally cannot think straight.