Today's Edition
By Dr. Hayfa Mohammed
The writer is a mental health activist My anger almost killed me when I was 17. I was studying abroad, and I got the chance to volunteer at an event. Suddenly, one of the senior students stormed at me without any apparent reason. She made me very angry, but I decided not to react in the moment out of respect to the organisers, instead, choosing to bottle my emotions up. The next day, I woke up in shock and found that my nose was bleeding heavily. This event prompted a visit to the doctor, where I found out that my blood pressure had shot up so high, my body had a physiological reaction. The doctors informed me that day that I was actually fortunate that my nose had bled, or else I could have had a stroke. From that moment on, I decided that I would never allow myself to bottle up my anger again.
Anger, like any emotion, is accompanied by physical and psychological changes. If such bodily stress persists, it can lead to health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, hormonal imbalances, muscle tension, and feelings of restlessness, irritation, and burnout. These negative physical consequences can also hamper your decision-making and be destructive to your relationships at home and work. Controlling one‘s anger is imperative to maintaining well-being. Here are a few methods to try the next time you feel yourself becoming angry.
1. Be honest with yourself: Analyse the context surrounding your anger and identify your triggers. You may find that you have unresolved trauma surrounding past incidents or unfulfilled needs.
2. Lower your expectations: Learn to accept rather than expect to lower the chance of being disappointed.
3. Think before you speak: Quick reactions are typically quick causes of regret, so it‘s important to take a moment, think logically, and act, instead of react.
4. Get active: Physical exercise is a known stress reliever. Performing activities such as taking daily walks, running, or going to the gym on a regular basis can help keep your stress, and your emotions, under control.
5. Practice deep breathing exercises: Simply taking a moment to relax your muscles and take a few deep breaths does wonders to calm your mind and body, allowing you to think more clearly.
As the famed Greek philosopher, Aristotle, once said, “Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody‘s power, and it is not easy.”
