Anger and the Brain
Table of contents for The Great Brain
Did you know that science has looked into anger and rage as they relate to the brain? The findings have been quite interesting. A Harvard study found that when subjects revisited tapes they recorded about events that made them angry or enraged they had measurable chemical reactions in the brain. The beginning of what I refer to here as possibility thinking is having an open mind. Many people in the media and in the everyday world struggle with anger and rage and so I’m tackling this issue in hopes it might offer understanding and direction to open minded people who are concerned with their anger and rage.
Here is a somewhat long quote (for me anyway) that explains what happened in the Harvard study better than I could. It is fascinating:
A look into the brains of normal subjects revealed that anger increases blood flow to a reasoning part of their brains, an area over the left eye just behind the forehead, technically called the orbitofrontal cortex. This flow inhibits thoughts of rage. At the same time, blood flow increased activity in the amygdala, an almond-shaped knot of tissue deep in the brain that deals with emotion and vigilance.
Angry feelings arising in the amygdala are normally cooled by activity in the frontal cortex, part of the thinking region of the brain. However, in some severely depressed people a lack of both recognition and control of anger, can lead to violent rage.
“All of us get angry from time to time,” comments Darin Dougherty, an assistant professor who led the research. “At such times, feelings of wrath in the primitive parts of our brains seem to be balanced by inhibitions of our will to act on those feelings.” Source
This process is like a miracle. Of course, the brain itself is a composite of so many apparent miracles it boggles any brain that seeks to understand it. Still we try. While one part of the brain is fed blood and reacts in anger, in unison other blood is fed to an area that controls inhibition that sort of keeps the angry thought under a lid. Of course, brain damage and mental illness can upset the balance of this process. This is why we see movies of people in mental hospitals screaming in rage without stopping. Somehow the delicate balance their brain was meant to have has been disturbed.
So what does this mean to me and you? Once again, it points us to the truths of Phineas Gage: our mind is a delicate instrument that needs care to stay in balance. When we are getting angry often we should ask ourselves: “Is this chemical?” Is there something disrupting the balance between those two parts of the brain? If so, there are likely drugs that can help … see a psychiatrist or a psychologist that has a practice in concert with a psychiatrist. There are so many triggers that make us angry and even despondent. It could be as big as someone ripping you off or maybe just suffering the empty results of top diet pills.
If you feel the issue has more to do with behavioral issues such as a recurring annoyance in the form of a memory or if you are suffering from some of the cognitive distortions, get thee to a therapist and discuss those issues. Or, you can go to a book store or library and do your own study on these issues. Personally, I would recommend going to a professional instead but just make sure you tend to the problem in some way.
Your brain is your lens to the rich pageant called life. Don’t let anger steal anything from you, there is no reason for that.
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How the brain works is completely fascinating to me. Everything happens so instantaneously, too. If one thing kicks in like pain or anger, for example, another part immediately responds. As you’ve so correctly stated, it really is a miracle.
Jessica The Rock Chicks last blog post..Sweet Dreams
When I am suffused with anger, it’s amazing how totally different I will perceive the world. Taking steps back and trying to decompress myself helps; the next day I just cannot believe the emotions that were raging about earlier.
Truly human beings are capable of creating their own reality. It’s when you try to mesh YOUR reality with the rest of the world’s reality that, ahem, opportunities for character-building grow….
Data points,
Barbara
Barbara that is an excellent point. Check out this quote:
To be angry is to revenge the faults of others upon ourselves. -Pope
Thank you for your comment. I hope you’ll stop by again.
I’ve been thinking about this article you wrote all day as I’ve been trying to keep breathing while getting screamed at about things that are 100% not my fault at work. I totally realized that some of what I consider to be stress is probably anger at having to listen to this stuff all the time! I’m convinced now that the reason I don’t get much relief from stress relievers is because I’m more angry than stressed!
You are so right, you can’t carry anger around with you and let it steal from the good points of your life.
Anger, though, is a necessary emotion, as I understand it. It’s a response to a threat and is necessary for survival. Of course, this response can get to extreme, but if you don’t express it, it can cause high blood pressure, depression and a host of other things.
This post has really inspired me to reevalute things!!!
Jessica The Rock Chicks last blog post..Sweet Dreams
Jessica: I’m so glad to hear the post made you think. Sounds like a rough day!
I think you make a great point about some anger being positive. To me, it’s an issue of balance that we have to keep testing and asking ourselves through what might be called “the good life.” When we let our anger steal from those precious moments of life with our kids etc. - then we are letting anger get the best of us and that’s just not necessary for smart people.
Thanks for submitting this post to our blog carnival. We just published the 35th edition of Brain Blogging and your article was featured!
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Shaheen
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