GOT A MAD GOING ON?

  “For every minute you are angry
you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
 
“Speak when you are angry – and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret.”  Dr. Laurence J. Peter

When you are angry, your body reacts just like it does to stress. It prepares for fight or flight.  Chemicals are released into your bloodstream. These powerful chemicals cause your body to undergo extreme changes. Your heart beats faster to pump increased oxygen, adrenaline, and sugar into your bloodstream.  Breathing begins to increases and blood is detoured away from the internal organs you don’t use in a fight and moves it to your muscles for strength. Your pupils dilate causing your vision to sharpen and your awareness intensifies.   Your rational mind is disengaged and your thoughts become distorted. You probably want to read that last statement a couple of times.  You may generate negative self- statements. You may begin to believe that no one cares or ever thinks about you. Negative thoughts usually serve to increase your anger. You are now in your anger attack mode and ready to fight. When you face real dangers in the world, this fight or flight response is invaluable to your survival, but when you are in a constant state of fight or flight day after day your health can begin to suffer. The powerful chemicals accumulate and make your body pay a price for being in a constant high energy state. Chronic anger suppresses the immune systems, can cause gastrointestinal problems such as irritable bowel syndrome and ulcers, it will affects your blood pressure and can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

The most common source of anger is frustration. Frustration occurs when you are blocked from doing what you want to do or from going where you want to go.  It is a feeling of helplessness and loss of control.

Another primary cause of anger is disappointment. You are disappointed when situations, events, or people, including yourself, do not meet the expectations you have for them. Threat to our sense of security is also a major cause of anger. Situations that threaten your security like doing poorly on an exam, losing your wallet, or encountering a problem you’re not prepared to deal with can leave you feeling vulnerable and angry.  The common thread that runs through all of these situations is another emotion, fear. These situations all result in the experience of fear. Anger is an emotion of fear. It is a defensive response to the feelings of helplessness and vulnerability that fear produces. While fear is a passive emotion with energy directed inward, anger is an aggressive emotion that allows you to direct energy outwards.

 A pearl to string: We cognitively interpret most of our life experiences; how we interpret a situation influences how much anger we might experience. Most often people try to justify their anger instead of taking responsibility for it but everyone experiences anger. The ability to express negative feelings in a constructive and positive manner is essential to positive spiritual, physical and mental health. 

 The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1:20 ESV)  A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression. (Proverb 29:22 ESV) , “Those who control their anger have great understanding; those with a hasty temper will make mistakes.” (Proverbs 14:29 NLT).

It's good to count to ten and lean on the Lord

Know you are loved

                         Lyndi