Anger Management and Anatomy


by Shannon Munford M.A. MFT, CAMF - Date: 2007-08-07 - Word Count: 869 Share This!

Every time you get angry, you poison your own system
-Alfred Montapert

They say that youth is wasted on the young. I'm 35- years- old, so depending on the crowd I'm in I still consider myself to be pretty young. One of the traits of the young and strong is that they rarely think about their health. That is why they can drink to excess, take up arms in the sexual revolution, sky dive, bungee jump and never think, "Hey this may kill me!" Don't get me wrong I like a little adventure and I try to keep in shape, I work out and try to eat right, but that is just so I can continue to see my shoes below my stomach. The truth is, I don't really think about my mortality very much. Heart Disease, Cancer and chronic pain are not things that stay on my mind.

The reality of life is everything you do today will determine how you live tomorrow. This is true when it comes to anger and what it can do to your body. I am not a doctor and I honestly can't stand the sight of blood. If my wife cuts her finger washing dishes you will find me running and screaming like a little girl in terror into the other room. Medical terminology puts me to sleep and I don't know an artery from an adrenal gland. But I have to admit and you probably do too that there is a direct link between our emotions and our bodies.

Just think about it. What happens when we are sad? We cry. What happens when we are nervous? We sweat. Our emotions can cause actual physical changes from headaches and tight muscles to ulcers and acne. Our emotions are even responsible for the stimulation and activation of our reproductive systems.

Anger is an emotion than can wreak havoc on our physical bodies. According to Dr. Don Colbert, the author of "Deadly Emotions", anger and hostility can cause an individual to release the hormones adrenaline and norepinephrine into their blood stream. Norepinephine, try saying that, 3 times fast. Norepinephine, norepinephine, norepinephine, oh well lets move on. Both hormones raise blood pressure, increase the heart rate and elevate the cholesterol level in the body. Breathing may become shallow, sweat may form on your brow, and you may see a vein pop out of your forehead. If these conditions continue over an expanded periods of time an individual could be at risk of heart attack or stroke.

We also find that the sudden rush of adrenaline into the blood stream can cause the body to perform extraordinary acts of strength. That reminds me of another television series. Do you remember the original Incredible Hulk, starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno? Whenever I watch poor, skinny Bill Bixby try to lift the burning car off of his dying wife I sadly ask myself, " How come his adrenaline doesn't kick in now?" In fact, it was experimenting with adrenaline and radiation that got him in trouble. It was that adrenaline/radiation cocktail that turned him into an out of control raging green hulk. Adrenaline has the same affect on us too. No, it won't turn you green, but it may cause you to exhibit some fairly dangerous behavior.

Roger, a former client of mine seemed to be a really nice guy. He smiled a lot, had a decent job and appeared to be overall pretty pleasant. As he recounted the story of how he was ordered into my anger management class it was apparent that a rush of adrenaline ignited by anger and fear was responsible for his otherwise out of character behavior.

Roger was on vacation in Lake Havasu, California. At 45, he just wanted to enjoy a nice quiet weekend on the Lake with his family. As he docked his boat that day he was a little tired and a lot sunburned. Roger noticed his nephew, a persistent hothead, in an argument with another vacationer. As the argument escalated into a physical altercation, Roger rushed to the aid of his nephew in an attempt to break up the fight. He suddenly found himself in the fight. In self-defense, Roger landed a right hook on the jaw of his nephew's opponent. Roger witnessed him falling to the ground and noticed a hurried blur running towards him from behind. Without thinking, Roger through up his hands and backslapped the approaching individual. When Roger was able to calm down and turn around he discovered that he had struck the victim's girlfriend smack in the mouth. She lay about thirty feet from the spot where she was hit. A quiet vacation on the lake had quickly turned into a night in jail and a charge of assault against a woman.

The physical and psychological affects of anger can propel even the most docile individuals into an aggressive attack. It is too late to take and anger management class when you are provoked. You must understand yourself and how you react to various triggers in life before a confrontation arises.



Shannon Munford M.A. MFT, CAMF
www.daybreakservices.com
http://angerarchive.blogspot.com
310-995-1202

Shannon Munford is the President and CEO of Daybreak Counseling Service and anger management education center in Los Angeles, California

Related Tags: cancer, heart disease, stress management, anger management, mind body connection, chronic pain, anger management classes, anger managment class, heada

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