How Anger Affects the Brain and Body

Anger and Its Effects

Anger is a very intense feeling, and can be characterized by a number of behaviors. These include grinding teeth, an increased heart rate, rising blood pressure, clenched fists, and other signs of aggravation or frustration (Hendricks, et al., 2013). Each person reacts to anger in a different way, and some of the manifestations of anger may not be outwardly apparent. Rises in blood pressure and heart rate, for example, are not easily noticed by others, but they can still be very damaging to the person who is struggling with the anger itself (Hendricks, et al., 2013). People also get angry for a number of different reasons, and they may react in an angry manner when they feel hurt, threatened, frustrated, or disappointed (Hendricks, et al., 2013). This is a relatively natural reaction for the majority of people, but that does not mean it is healthy or that it is appropriate in all circumstances. There are times when being angry -- or at least when showing that anger -- is a completely unacceptable thing to do based on the circumstances in which the person finds himself or herself.

There are benefits to anger, just as there are disadvantages. One of the important benefits to anger is that it helps people to overcome their fears (Hendricks, et al., 2013). When a person is angry, he or she may do something or take care of a problem that would not otherwise be resolved. He or she may also stand up for himself or herself, as opposed to backing down on something important because of fear (Hendricks, et al., 2013). Those are very important benefits that can greatly affect how a person lives life. Additionally, becoming angry can help a person build confidence in response to threats or danger, either real or perceived (Hendricks, et al., 2013). In other words, a person may not be in actual danger, but even believing danger is present can cause a triggering of the fight or flight response. That response, in turn can affect the person's reaction to the issue at hand.

The disadvantages of anger are significant and well documented, however. It can cause a numbing feeling, both cognitively and emotionally, in that the person who becomes angry may actually show (and have) very little emotion or give very little conscious thought to what is taking place (Hendricks, et al., 2013). That can be dangerous for the person who becomes angry and for the person who is the subject of that anger, since the term "blind rage" is well understood to be something a person can slip into when he or she, essentially, shuts down because of anger (Hendricks, et al., 2013). After the anger subsides the person may not really remember what took place, but the damage will already be done. There are serious problems that can come from a person failing to understand the levels of anger he or she reaches, or even failing to recognize that anger properly (Hendricks, et al., 2013). Abusers are often angry, for example, and they may not recognize or acknowledge that, which can make it hard to get treatment for them or get them to seek help.