Ambrose Bierce once said: “Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”
Anger is like a virus. The stronger it becomes, the more it affects those around you. Think about it. Have you ever told someone to calm down? How often did those people ACTUALLY calm down? Telling someone they’re cranky or angry usually just makes them crankier or angrier.
Being angry can be detrimental on a person. Anger has shown to increase blood pressure and anxiety as well as cause headaches. It can increase your chance of a heart attacks and strokes.
Intense or long term anger will also cause a number of nasty symptoms, such as indigestion, insomnia and bodily aches. Pretty nasty for an emotion that is deemed normal, right? I can almost guarantee that you likely didn’t consider any of that, the last time you got mad.
Anger can be a useful emotion, if used in a positive manner. But more often than not, anger will lead to poor choices or violence and can damage long-standing relationships. In the long term, that is. If my relationships ended every time I got angry, I’d never be able to drive in heavy traffic!
There are a number of ways to deal with anger. Obviously, learning meditation is an effective tool for learning to control oneself. Regular physical activity is also a great help. Whatever means you decide to use, remember that as I’ve said before, emotion is an energy. And you can’t destroy that energy, you can simply transform it. This is where it becomes important to transform it into something useful. ☯
The Blogging Buddhist 