It is a very common and human reaction: getting annoyed when a colleague is late, your child is stupid, an irritating word from your partner … the reasons for getting angry and losing patience on a daily basis are endless. There is no point in keeping feelings, even negative ones, deep within oneself. But expressing anger often comes with risks. Do we really know them? What are the effects on our body of this nervous state? How to limit them?

Anger is often considered the worst emotion that we can feel, especially given the effects seen on our body and our brain. Getting annoyed, getting angry, getting angry, are normal emotions, but which in the long run have deleterious repercussions on our mental and physical health.

Anger first of all causes major digestive problems:

• gastric inflammation (reflux and heartburn, ulcers);
• diarrhea.

It also causes muscle pain, since the body is subjected to stress or danger, then secreting adrenaline, a hormone that is harmful in the long run for our serenity and our calm. Reserved by the body for major stressful and dangerous situations, if too much is secreted, muscle tension builds up, especially in the back, shoulders and neck, causing chronic pain and ailments.

Our skin also reaps the harmful effects of anger: it can cause rashes and be itchy.

Finally, organs like the liver, gallbladder and heart also suffer toxic effects:

• risk of heart attack;
• cardiovascular illnesses ;
• arrhythmia;
• Collapse.

These are possible effects for the heart, in case of repeated and frequent anger.

Excessive production of bile and engorgement of the liver occur when you get upset.

In addition to all these medical elements, anger deeply affects our emotional balance and our psyche, through the chronic stress it induces.

The consequences are numerous:

• regarding our psyche, anger can lead to anxiety, compulsive phobias and behavior, withdrawal into oneself and potentially depression;
• concerning our mind, it is an enemy of concentration and creativity. You cannot progress positively in a project or a work by repeating an annoyance or an anger. By taking all of your energy, it prevents you from being fully in what you are doing or wanting to do;
• it destroys self-esteem, since anger is sometimes redirected against the person who feels it. The person thus permanently self-condemns;
• it is at the origin of breaks with our relationships (friends, spouse, work colleagues, family, etc.), and thus leads to isolation and depressive behavior;
• in chronic anger, the person tends to use more highly addictive products, such as cigarettes and alcohol.

Aristotle said “Anger is necessary: ​​we cannot force any obstacle without it, without it filling our soul and warming our enthusiasm. Only she must be taken not as a captain, but as a soldier. “

You think you have more power by feeling and letting your anger out, but controlling it and knowing it can make it an asset. First of all, you have to accept to feel anger, and not to act as if it does not exist. Rather than giving in to the temptation to yell, break things, or take your anger out on other people, try to write down the reasons for your anger or annoyance.

Learning to breathe, through meditation or yoga, is also a great way to regulate your emotions and learn to manage them.

In order to preserve relationships, after a blow of nervousness, it is advisable to admit the excess of emotions and to apologize, observing what made us get carried away, to prevent it from happening again.

“Patience and length of time are more than strength or rage” wisely reminds Jean de la Fontaine.

In order to motivate us to abandon anger for its antagonist patience, we can take an interest in the benefits of the latter on our mind and our body.

People who are naturally patient are less prone to depression and anxiety. More aware of the present moment, they often practice gratitude for what they have, and easily connect with others by feeling empathy.

More optimistic and more content with their lives, patients face challenges with more resilience, without despair or abandonment. Patience also helps to achieve projects and goals.

Capable of relativizing and always seeing the glass half full, patient people therefore practice for themselves and for others a form of kindness and empathy which allows them to alleviate all the small annoyances of everyday life.

To develop this essential virtue, it is necessary to observe the situation in which one feels the anger rising with another eye. Does it really matter?

Then, to practice mindfulness, watching negative emotions come up without judging them. Finally, be grateful everyday for what you have today.