Health Benefits Of Having Anger Management Counseling

Going to counseling for anger management can help improve personal and professional relationships. Did you know it can also improve your overall health? Getting angry in a situation doesn't only elicit an outward response, but it creates an internal one, as well. If kept unchecked, the frequent release of chemicals into your body will have a negative impact on your health.

Problem: Feelings of Anger Leads to Health Problems

Various studies about the effects emotions have on the human body reveal that getting angry releases chemicals into the body at unhealthy rates. These chemicals include epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol. While each of these is beneficial in small amounts, a constant release can lead to these major health concerns:

Increased Blood Pressure: An increase in blood pressure causes damage to both your arteries and your kidneys. Over time, this can lead to heart and kidney failure.
Blood Clots: Adrenaline causes blood vessels and heart muscles to constrict. It also causes blood clots. This combination easily leads to a heart attack or stroke.
Increased Aggression: Adrenaline signals what is referred to as the fight-or-flight response. As your blood pressure increases and your focus narrows, you see only 2 ways to respond to a situation – you either lash out and fight it, or you run from it. Non-adrenaline increases your likelihood of responding aggressively to a situation.
Strained Nervous System: A strained nervous system is the result of too much adrenaline and not enough acetylcholine (which is suppressed when angry) to balance it. This negatively affects arteries, the liver, and your kidneys. It can also result in high cholesterol.
Illness: Large amounts of cortisol weaken the immune system and makes it difficult to recover from wounds. Your thyroid is also weakened, increasing the likelihood that you'll suffer from additional hormonal imbalances.
Physical Changes: A cortisol imbalance causes physical changes over time. It results in weight gain and muscle loss. It can also lower bone density.

Solution: Learn Anger Management Through Counseling

A lot of people feel that if they "give up" their anger, they will be walked all over by friends and colleagues. This isn't the case. You can learn to be assertive without losing control and becoming angry. Your relationships will be a lot healthier if you do this, as well. Counseling helps you combat the negative effects of anger and improve your overall health – it doesn't change you into a docile person. A good counselor will help you develop what can be determined as an "anger plan". It's how you respond to situations. Do make an anger plan, you'll need to:

Identify Triggers: The first step is to identify emotional triggers. What situations cause you to feel angry? How can you avoid or change these situations before you have an angry reaction?
Slow Your Reaction Time: A major difficulty people with chronic anger experience is that they have a quick reaction time. This can lead to aggressive behavior – both physical and verbal. Learning to slow your reaction time will change the way you perceive a situation and help you respond more effectively. Calming techniques such as deep breathing and counting are simple, yet helpful, ways to slow reaction time.
Learn Healthy Responses: Being assertive in your opinion isn't a bad thing. You can be assertive and respectful to others even when you disagree with them. However, anger isn't a positive or healthy response, and it doesn't usually accomplish what you intended. Healthy responses are pausing to consider the other person's point of view and formulating a calm rebuttal when you are in disagreement.

Learning anger management is a great way to improve your overall well-being. As your communication skills improve, so will your relationships with family, friends and coworkers. These new responses will help regulate the chemicals and hormones in your body so your heart, kidneys, and other organs stay strong and healthy. You will be a better person – inside and out.

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