Addicted to Anger

One of the most subtle and often overlooked facets in the human body is the connection between the psychology and physiology of emotion. As human beings we make poor observers of ourselves because we are unable to step outside ourselves and be truly objective. Yet every thing we perceive, experience and feel has a physical origin and affects our bodies. I have come, in the past few years to learn a great deal about emotion and its effects on the body, particularly anger. Anger is a killer, leading to premature death from heart disease or cancer in the chronically angry or irritable. I have come to examine my own experiences with anger and decided to take steps to be a calmer and more relaxed person for the sake of my health and those around me.

Our emotions reside in the limbic system of our brains. The limbic system is the oldest portion of the brain, having evolved little since it first appeared in reptiles millions of years ago. For this reason the limbic system is often referred to as the reptilian brain. The basic purpose of the limbic system, particularly an almond shaped organ located within this system called the amygdala, is to recognize threats within the environment and initiate a physical reaction to such threats. The amygdala is very good at its job, recognizing threats within seconds and initiating the body's "fight or flight" response before the higher reasoning functions of the cerebral cortex can even ascertain the exact nature of the threat. This is a crucial system, responsible for helping us remove ourselves from dangerous situations. The amygdala, while a powerful motivator is a poor judge of a situation's gravity, and can often create powerful physiological reactions to relatively benign situations. The perception and subsequent physiological reaction, often an overreaction, to innocuous situations is the basic mechanism of stress in our lives. While we seldom face real danger in the United States, we often face our body's "danger" reaction, which has physiological consequences.