Negative Emotions Affect Health

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NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AFFECT YOUR HEALTH

Did you know that any negative or positive sensation or emotion affects a specific part of your body?

While positive emotions like gratitude have been scientifically linked to various benefits, negative emotions and stress can wreak havoc—especially if you don’t exercise or eat well, as both can alleviate pessimism and keep stress under control.

Interestingly, certain emotions are related to pain in specific regions of the body, although science cannot explain exactly why. For example, people suffering from depression often experience chest pain, even when their heart is physically fine.

Likewise, the feeling of extreme grief can have a devastating impact, and research confirms that in the days following the loss of a loved one, the risk of suffering a heart attack increases 21 times.

Although much remains to be discovered about the exact mechanics of these links between mind and body, it is known that your brain, and consequently your thoughts and emotions, play a distinct role when you experience physical pain and can contribute to the development of chronic diseases. As a result of these findings, various mind-body therapies have emerged that take into account this interrelationship between your emotions and your physical health.

The Science of Anger

Let’s say someone cuts into your lane while you’re driving, and in response, you get angry. When this happens, stress-related chemicals are released related to the fight-or-flight response, preparing your body for quick action. The biochemical torrent that occurs during an anger outburst goes beyond…

The stress response begins in your brain. When your eyes or ears register a sudden threat (the car cutting into your lane), information is sent to the amygdala, a brain area that interprets both images and sounds and is involved in processing emotions.

By interpreting the scene and sounds as an imminent threat, your amygdala sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus, which is similar to a command center for your entire body.

This communicates with various parts of the body and organs through the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for involuntary bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, dilation and constriction of blood vessels, etc.

Your autonomic nervous system has 2 “branches”—the sympathetic nervous system, which triggers the fight-or-flight response, and the parasympathetic, which promotes the “rest and digest” response that calms your body once it is no longer in danger.

As the amygdala sends its distress signal, the hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system, causing the adrenal glands to release adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine).

The sudden release of stress chemicals causes your heart rate and blood pressure to rise, which in turn makes you breathe faster. It also releases glucose and fats from the body sites where they are stored, giving your body a quick boost of energy.

Blood also rushes to your extremities, including your face. For this reason, anger can literally make you blush.

This avalanche of events happens so quickly that it is already in full swing before the visual center of your brain has fully processed what is happening.

The Importance of Your Prefrontal Cortex

To maintain or regain emotional control, you need to activate your prefrontal cortex—the brain area that controls executive functions, such as complex cognitive and social behavior, as well as personality expression, willpower, decision-making, and judgment. Without the prefrontal cortex, you cannot have self-control or process logical thought.

As noted in a 2015 study analyzing how subliminal messages of anger affect decision-making abilities, “the behavioral and physiological impact of angry states jeopardizes the efficiency of cognitive processing through action-ready changes in the autonomic response that distort neuronal and regional activity.”

The presented video does not address how to activate the prefrontal cortex; however, some scientifically proven ways to strengthen this brain region and improve your self-control include:

Eating a healthy diet with high-quality fats
Getting enough quality sleep (most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night)
Exercising regularly. To strengthen the prefrontal cortex, relaxation exercises such as Tai Chi or yoga, as well as high-intensity workouts, will provide great benefits
Managing your daily stress. Your prefrontal cortex begins to succumb when it is chronically flooded with stress-related chemicals. By not allowing stress to become chronic, you will be able to manage your self-control much better in difficult situations.

It has been shown that meditating briefly every day increases activity in the prefrontal cortex in just 8 weeks, improving stress control and self-awareness.

When you feel angry: Stop and take deep breaths to re-oxygenate your brain before acting

People Who Get Angry Easily Live Less

Feeling anger frequently is associated with a higher risk of high blood pressure and heart problems, such as heart attacks and strokes. Biologically, this is because epinephrine and norepinephrine constrict blood vessels, causing your heart to work harder.

They also increase levels of glucose and fatty acids in the blood, which, when elevated chronically, damage blood vessels and contribute to atherosclerosis. Research has also shown that people who get angry easily tend to die earlier compared to their better-tempered counterparts.

In a study involving 1,300 men who were monitored for 40 years, those in the quartile with the most frustration had a 1.57 times greater risk of dying prematurely compared to those in the quartile with the least frustration.

In fact, the results were the same after considering other factors correlated with mortality, such as income level, marital status, and smoking—even personality traits (such as higher levels of cognitive ability, which may be protective). As the lead author noted:

“The point is not just getting angry from time to time… These people are likely to have been constantly angry. It’s okay to be angry one afternoon, or even for a year. This issue may capture not transient anger, but a predisposition to anger.”

Now, even an intense outburst of anger has implications. In one study, the risk of a person suffering a heart attack increased nearly 5 times, and their risk of stroke increased more than 3 times in the 2 hours following an outburst of anger (compared to being calm and relaxed). The risk was even greater among those with a history of heart problems.

Research published in the journal “Circulation” demonstrated that men who frequently feel anger and hostility have a higher risk of atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat). Additionally, other negative emotions such as depression and loneliness have been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

Repressing Negative Emotions Makes Everything Worse

However, repressing your anger is not the solution. It has been found that doing so triples your risk of suffering a heart attack. Furthermore, the risks associated with repressing anger were even greater when people felt they had been treated unfairly.

According to Iris Mauss, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Berkeley and author of a study on the effects of repressing negative emotions versus accepting them:

“We found that people who routinely accept their negative emotions experience them less, leading to better psychological health. Perhaps if you have an accepting attitude towards negative emotions, you don’t pay them as much attention. And probably, if you are constantly judging your emotions, you can accumulate negativity.”

In other words, trying to pretend you don’t feel what you feel, or harshly judging your emotions, tends to cause more stress compared to simply feeling the emotion in question and moving past it. Conversely, people who allowed sadness, disappointment, anger, or resentment to simply run their course had fewer symptoms of emotional disorders.

Accepting “things as they are,” including emotions, is what many practices of meditation and yoga can teach you. But why is it so important to accept your emotions? Psychology Today explains the following:

“When you try to deny or repress any ‘part’ of yourself—whether it be emotions, desires, or fears you do not want to feel—parts of you fragment.

You need a sense of integration; of inner wholeness, to enhance your well-being and ability to handle the ups and downs, successes and failures; all part of the relentless change and impermanence that characterizes life.”

Repressed emotions such as anger, fear, frustration, and rage can also be a contributing factor to chronic pain, especially back pain. I wrote about this in “Most Back Pain is Caused by Repressed Emotions”—an article about the groundbreaking work of the late Dr. John Sarno, who used mind-body techniques to treat patients with chronic and severe back pain.

Chronic Anger May Increase Your Risk of Dementia

Brain health also suffers negative consequences if you are chronically angry. For example, a form of chronic anger known as “cynical distrust” has been linked to a significantly higher risk of dementia. Cynical distrust is described as the belief that most people prefer to follow their interests rather than consider others.

In one study, older adults with a high degree of cynical distrust had a 2.5 times greater risk of developing dementia compared to those with low levels. This finding adds to the growing research showing that negative emotions, and cynicism in particular, contribute to poor health. It is dangerous in several ways. For example, research has shown that:

People with cynical and hostile attitudes are more likely to die prematurely and have higher rates of death from coronary artery disease compared to people with “positive future expectations.”
People with cynical attitudes may suffer more from stress and do not obtain better stress-mitigating benefits from positive social support.
Cynical hostility is linked to poor oral health.
Cynical hostility is associated with increased inflammation markers, which can contribute to heart problems and dementia.
Cynical hostility is related to a higher metabolic burden among middle-aged and older adults.

How to Nurture Emotional Well-Being

Anger is a normal human emotion and can undoubtedly be appropriate at certain times. It can serve as a warning that something is wrong or alert you to impending physical or psychological trauma.

Anger, with its surge of adrenaline, can give you the energy to resist a real physical threat. Likewise, anger can help you learn to set healthier physical and emotional boundaries.

If your anger ultimately harms your health, it may be related not only to its frequency but also to how it is expressed and how you deal with its consequences. The key is to channel your anger into a controlled and constructive external expression. This can truly help release tension and stress.

An example of this would be to use your anger to encourage an intense workout session or to clean the house. Constructive anger, in which people externalize their feelings of anger in as rational and calm a manner as possible, and work to find solutions, has also been shown to benefit health and interpersonal relationships.

If you tend to get angry easily, implement energy psychology techniques such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)

EFT can reprogram your body’s reactions to the inevitable stressors of everyday life by stimulating different energy points and meridians in your body. It is done by tapping specific points with your fingertips while repeating personalized verbal affirmations. This can be done alone or under the supervision of a qualified therapist.

Striving to be more aware—focusing on what you are doing and the sensations you are experiencing—can also improve your mental and emotional outlook. When you are consciously present, your mind is less likely to wander and ruminate over stressful or anger-inducing incidents, which can help you let go of these feelings.

Additionally, make sure to get enough restorative sleep, as without it you are much more likely to lose emotional control; exercise is another key strategy for emotional well-being.

Studies have shown that during exercise, calming chemicals are released in the brain (endorphins). It is a natural way to provide your body with pleasurable relaxation and rejuvenation, and it has been shown to help protect against the physical effects of daily stress.

Last but not least, follow the advice of Susie Moore, a columnist for Greatist and a life and self-confidence coach. When something or someone makes you angry, simply ask yourself: “So what?” Unkind comments, even insults, are not a reflection of your true worth, and the fact that they cut into your lane is not an indication that the universe is conspiring against you to ruin your day.

The expert writes in the article “These Two Simple Words Can Cure Your Anger”,

“there is an almost ancestral wisdom in this short question—’So what?’—meaning… Don’t worry about other people. Everything is fine.

Speaking from a Buddhist perspective… Now let me ask you: What are some situations you can respond to with a ‘so what?’

Were you not included or invited to something you wanted to be part of?
Were you not invited to have a second date?
Did you not get the job you were looking for?
Were you punished for not making it to your 7 a.m. class at the gym because you preferred to sleep that extra time you needed?
Did you ruin dinner?