ANGER
WHAT’S Anger?
Anger is a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.
In some cases depression might not be about sadness, but more about a kind of anger which we find ourselves unable to express. Anger might be caused by a feeling of frustration (not saying what you need to say or do what you need to do), it can come from a feeling of guilt, feeling yourself surrounded by anger towards someone who help you by the past and for who you still have positive feelings. Anger is a complex feeling who’s hiding a deep sadness and low self esteem.
What Are the Types of Anger Disorders?
People who have issues controlling anger or who experience anger outside of a normal emotional scope can present with different types of anger disorders:
Chronic anger, which is prolonged, can impact the immune system and be the cause of other mental disorders. The elevation of cortisol (a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex) can really affect your physical health for the reason that most bodily cells have cortisol receptors, it affects many different functions in the body…
(Cortisol helps: control blood sugar levels, regulate metabolism, help reduce inflammation, and assist with memory formulation. It has a controlling effect on salt and water balance and helps control blood pressure.)
Passive anger, which doesn’t always come across as anger and can be difficult to identify because of is a tendency to engage in indirect expression of hostility such as subtle insults, stubbornness, or a deliberate failure to accomplish required tasks.
Overwhelmed anger, which is caused by life demands that are too much for an individual to cope with, it can be an overload of work or family support, or a difficult relationship.
Self-inflicted anger, which is directed toward the self and may be caused by feelings of guilt.
Volatile anger, which involves sometimes-spontaneous bouts of excessive or violent anger.
How does it work in your brain?
1) Anger activates the amygdala before you even notice.
2) the amygdala activates the hypothalamus
3) The hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland by discharging corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)
4) The pituitary activates the adrenal glands by releasing ACTH hormone (ACTH hormones are here to regulate levels of the steroid hormone cortisol, which released from the adrenal gland)
5)The adrenal gland secrete stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline.
What can you do to balance your brain chemical:
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, in The Physiology of Taste (1826!!): “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are”.
The idea of a gut-brain connection is becoming more and more commune, that you may have heard of, it is indeed extremely real: 90% of our serotonin lives in our gut. (Wait, what is “serotonin”?) Serotonin is considered a natural mood stabilizer. It’s the chemical that helps with sleeping, eating, and digesting, serotonin impacts every part of your body, from your emotions to your motor skills.
Therefore low serotonin levels lead to negative thoughts, feeling tense and irritable. This proves that our gut microbiome plays a crucial role in our overall health and mental health for that matter. Toxic substances like heavy metals, pesticides, drug use, Lack of sunlight contributes to low serotonin levels and can cause permanent damage to the nerve cells that make serotonin and other neurotransmitters. For example your hormone will changes cause low levels of serotonin and neurotransmitter imbalances.
What to eat:
You want to focus on eating proteins (plant or animal), fresh vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats. You also want to avoid limiting yourself of food (being on a diet). One way to relieve your anger is to eat foods in their natural, whole, unprocessed state.
When we are feeling tense, angry or stressed, it could be also a reflection of congestion in the liver. To cleanse your liver you need to eat food that are beneficial like beets, beans, cucumber, seaweeds, root, chamomile flowers, turmeric, ginger, daikon radish, pomegranate… (Check out our instagram for Tips on food and mental health).
You have to experiment and figure out what foods aggravate you and what foods calm you, to do so maybe you want to start by writing in a diary what good and bad product you eat everyday, without having to be crazy about the content and overload yourself with another stress, it could be a way to understand the response of your guts (and so your brain) to certain type of food.
TRY TO NOT:
Typically a diet high in red meat, sugar, and alcohol increases anger, so try and focus on adding more vegetables and whole, natural ingredients to your diet to avoid being so angry all the time. You'll be surprised by how much it actually works – you really can reduce your anger by changing what you are eating and how much you are exercising!
Try using the app(s): CBT-i Coach / AIMS
Organisation in the Uk who can help you with Anger management:
Anger Manage Uk: Amazing website where you will find all the additional information needed, also test covering Anger, Shame, Stress and communication style. Anger is a very complex feeling and this organisation understand that complexity so they divides Anger in different sub topics and provides targeted help depending of your score after test.
https://www.angermanage.co.uk/
Every man :
Although it may seem so, people don’t just suddenly snap. There is always a build-up of energy before an outbreak of violence. Become aware of your Warning Signs of the build-up towards violence and use the self-help guide as well as the consultancy.
http://www.everymanproject.co.uk/services/
Young minds:
https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/feelings-and-symptoms/anger/
Childline: It's a 1-2-1 session - so it's just you and Childline. They can give you help and support with whatever's worrying you.
https://www.childline.org.uk/get-support/1-2-1-counsellor-chat/