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Anger: the science behind it

Anger: a common emotion felt by the entirety of the Earth. Why do we experience this? When we stub our toes, are betrayed by a trusted individual, and even in our early years of life when we get our toys taken away, our brain makes us feel angry. Anger is one of the emotions that triggers our fight or flight response. Although anger can sometimes cloud our decisions, it is an importance emotion that takes a detrimental role in people's lives.


Norepinephrine is the chemical associated with anger and fear as it is released to trigger fight or flight responses. While fear usually invokes a flight responses, anger invokes a fight response. This is why when people are angry they are very confrontational even if they want to or not. In the brain, the amygdala is the location where anger and fear is associated. Scientists have used this information to group anger and fear as the "stressful emotions".



When you get angry, the heartbeat increases, muscles contract, and body language changes. This is result of your brain preparing for a fight. It is truly instinct oriented. While everyone feels anger, we all do not experience the same level of anger. Scientists call this level of anger, trait anger, and those who experience higher levels of trait anger react stronger to situations than people with lower trait anger.


Too much anger in your life can lead to bad heart health, higher risk in decisions, and affect your relationship with people around you. Communication is the best route to solving anger issues because when you are angry, you want confrontation, and learning how to effectively communicate with someone leads to great benefits to health and overall well being. Once you effectively communicate why you are angry, it is like a weight being lifted off your shoulders.



Learning about your brain allows for great relationships between you and the people you love. Anger is a strong emotion that lingers in every person's life. Learning what anger is and how to manage it, leads to a world of possibilities for effective communication between everyone.


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