Did You Know…anger can have a destructive—even deadly—effect on your health?
Everyone gets angry. But according to Dr. Don Colbert, M.D., author of Deadly Emotions, anger can profoundly damage your health. “Depression, anger, guilt, condemnation, low self-esteem…these are only a few of the lethal toxins…,” Dr. Colbert warns.
He supports these claims with scientific evidence about the effects of anger on the physiological aspect.
Simply put, the effects of anger triggers a biologically embedded “fight-or-flight” response. In ancient times, when human beings faced physical threats like animal predators, the fight-or-flight response saved our lives by pumping our bodies with hormones and chemicals necessary to fuel intense physical action. 
However, in modern life, that response is unnecessary 99% of the time. Worse yet, the fight-or-flight response is actually killing us, according to Peter McWilliams, author of You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought: A Book for People with Any Life-Threatening Illness—Including Life.
That’s why it’s important to teach yourself how to handle your anger and reduce stress in healthy ways that minimize its psychological and physical consequences.
Fight, Flight…or Die?
When anger kicks in, your body readies itself to respond to a perceived threat. Your muscles tense…your digestive processes stop…and certain brain centers start firing in ways that alter your brain chemistry.
These functions reflect our genetically coded response to danger. Unfortunately, nowadays, these strong chemical reactions are inappropriately triggered by minor annoyances—like getting cut off in traffic or being spoken to unkindly.
For modern humans, even thinking about a stressful situation can spark a full-blown “fight-or-flight” response.
In fight-or-flight, your body’s resources mobilize for immediate physical action. Any bodily function not directly related to fighting or fleeing is put on hold, including:
-
• Digestion
• Assimilation
• Cell production
• Body maintenance
• Circulation (except to the skeletal muscles involved in the fight-or-flight process)
• Healing
• Immunological defenses
Long-Term Consequences from a Moment of Fury
The health consequences of continual fight-or-flight response can be severe. According to Dr. Mercola, a highly regarded and widely published natural health practitioner, our automatic anger response leads to health problems like:
- Headaches
- Digestive imbalances
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Depression
- High blood pressure
- Skin problems, including eczema
- Heart attack
- Stroke
Is Your Anger Putting You At Risk for Heart Problems?
Your heart is especially vulnerable to the deadly effects of anger and its consequences. Researchers at Washington State University conducted a study with participants 50 and older.
Those with explosive tempers were significantly more likely to have arterial calcium deposits—a primary indicator of heart attack risk—than those who didn’t.
Study author Bruce Wright, M.D., says lashing out in anger can make stress hormones surge and injure blood vessel linings. But repressing anger is also dangerous.
In fact, Dr. Johan Denollet of the Tilburg University in the Netherlands headed a study of heart disease patients last year—and found that holding in your anger triples your risk of heart attack!
Negative Emotions and Disease
Even the highly conservative Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admits that 85% of all diseases have a strong link to your emotional state. Other experts believe the real percentage is higher.
How to Deal (With Anger)
So, if neither lashing out nor bottling up anger are appropriate…how should you handle anger? After all, you will experience anger from time to time.
Dr. Mercola recommends a specific technique as astoundingly effective. “In my clinical practice, I have tried a variety of methods, and have been exposed to many more (both conventional and alternative) through my medical background,” he says. “But none have come close to the success rate I have experienced with the Meridian Tapping Technique / Emotional Freedom Technique (MTT/EFT).”
Basically, MTT/EFT works through a combination of mental focus, positivity, and applied pressure on energy points. When these techniques are used together, your body’s biochemistry responds by speedily eliminating the issue: anger, stress, anxiety, or any other unwanted emotion.
As a result, you not only feel better—but you safeguard your health from the deadly effects of anger. Learn more about MTT and EFT.
