#12: What Happens When We Get Worked Up?

I get worked up all the time. Just the other day, some idiot told me that the way one can lose weight is to go zero-carb. But just before I went all Caps-Lock on his ass, I thought - is getting worked up healthy?

The truth is, it’s not. Definitely not. In fact, if we look at the attitudes of some of the longest living folks, they tend to be bags of sunshine on the regular. At least when compared to me.

People of the world have reached record levels of sadness and anger. Don’t take it from me, take it from a study surveying 151,000 adults in more than 140 countries. 22% of participants reported feeling angry. 39% reported sadness or worry.

Anger is a necessary state of mind. An essential emotion in the context of human survival. But human survival was never meant to contend with being overworked, struggling for time, cash, and the odd encounters with internet.

When stress piles up, so does anger, and just like we need to have enough common sense to control our diets, we should be doubly careful about managing our stress levels.

Why is the mental state of being pissed unhealthy?

Anger Raises Our Blood Pressure

According to a study in the European Heart Journal, just one angry outburst can have immediate adverse effects. That’s because anger causes an increase in blood pressure and a release of the stress hormones: adrenaline and cortisol.

Indeed, the risk of a heart attack or angina is nearly five times higher in the two hours following an angry outburst than at other times, and the risk of stroke is four times higher.

Researchers even estimated that if 10,000 healthy people have one angry outburst a month over a year, one of them will suffer a heart attack or a stroke as a result of the outburst.

Anger Messes With Our Immunity

Harvard University scientists found that in healthy people, simply recalling an angry experience from their past caused a six-hour dip in levels of the antibody immunoglobulin A, the cells’ first line of defense against infection.

The effects were even worse in people who are generally calm and relaxed (side note: that’s not an excuse to be grumpy on the daily).

Your Mind Will Suffer

When we get angry, stress chemicals flood our brain and body and continue to cause changes in our metabolism. How often is it that people with unresolved anger complain of headaches or digestive issues, if not even skin-issues and insomnia.

Chronic anger is the metaphorical hammer raining upon your brain. And if poorly managed, anger can lead to problems such as alcohol and substance abuse, crime, emotional and physical abuse, and violent behavior.

It can be the underlying cause of anxiety and depression, potentially disrupting relationships, thinking and behavior patterns, and can even create a variety of physical problems.

It Makes You Unpleasant

Having healthy relationships is necessary if your goal is to live longer. It’s quite the paradox, because becoming a pleasant person can make you live longer and you would want to live longer if you’re a pleasant person.

That beautiful paradox is hampered if you’re an asshole, according to science.

One study showed that parents who yelled at their teenage kids often noticed worse behaviour as their children got older. Moreover, people who grew up in hostile environments - with lots of screaming and shouting - had different brain structures in the parts of the brain that process sound and language.

There is also another side-effect. Being regularly angry will not keep you in ‘pole position’ to make great life choices. And you will suffer because of it. Not only can it lead you to say the wrong thing to the wrong person, it may also lead you to decide on matters without having the correct frame of mind.

So How Can We Control It?

There is no question that most of us in Malta could do with a little tapering down off the odd outburst. But knowing it and doing it are two completely different stories.

Making a conscious effort to think before you speak, finding alternative ways to vent out your frustrations, finding solutions instead of problems, letting go of grudges, keeping out of toxic situations and perhaps even handling troubles with a little more humour can all go a long, long way. But perhaps that discussion should be tabled for another day.