There is a myth that releasing anger can be beneficial to us, making us feel better after we have "got it out of our system"  - but this is not true!  As with anything we do repeatedly, we get better at it; like a hobby, craft, job or sport.  It's exactly the same when releasing aggression, the more angry we get, the better we become at it.  

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When we experience any strong emotion such as fear, grief, anger, the neural connections in our emotional brain (the "Limbic system") momentarily shuts off our thinking brain (the "Neocortex") so we are unable to think rationally.  As with anxiety (which is related to fear) this makes us temporarily stupid as the strong emotion consumes us. This is our "fight or flight" response kicking in and before we realise we have enacted out some action that seconds later we have very much regretted.

 

Excessive anger can be dangerous as there are long term implications that can seriously damage our health arising from it. These include:

 

• Heart disease

• High cholesterol

• High blood pressure

• Blocked or damaged arteries

• Reduction in our immune system lessening our chances to fight off infections

• An increase in recovery times for major surgery e.g. heart surgery or cancer

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Anger can be the cause of a past trauma and is also a sign that one, or more of your "emotional needs" are currently not being met in your life.

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As a Human Givens Psychotherapist, I can help by:

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• teaching you effective breathing techniques, so you are able to calm down quickly

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• teaching you how to anticipate and prevent an anger attack

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• establishing which emotional needs are not being met and improve your lifestyle

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• teaching you how to understand what the triggers are for your anger

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• unhooking strong emotions from past traumas

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• improving your sleep patterns

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