By Suleiman Tajudeen
CITIZENS COMPASS–Last week, our Health columnist, Dr Suleiman Tajudeen, exrayed the effects of anger on manhood.
He shed more light about the causes, effects and dangers of this topic which has been possing challenges to many including men, women and youths.
Kindly enjoy the concluding part of the topic.
Stressful life conditions.
Frustration.
Financial challenges.
Unjust treatment.
Physical or emotional abuse.
Relationship issues.
Work environment.
Threatening situation.
Underlining mental health conditions.
Unfair treatment.
Hereditary, an individual might be prone to anger due to effects from childhood, past or recent experiences in their lives.
Fear of being oppressed.
Painful experience that the individual deem unbearable or unable to resolve within himself or herself.
Feeling threatened or attacked.
Discrimination or injustice.
Bereavement.
Childhood and upbringing, (i.e individual might grow up thinking that, it’s alright to act out your anger aggressively or violently).
General effects of anger in a given society
It can lead to arguments.
Physical fights.
Physical abuse.
It can lead to assault and self harm.
It can lead to heart disease.
Lower Immunity.
Kidney problems.
Intestinal cramping .
Peptic ulcer .
Constipation and diarrhoea.
Poor sleep.
High blood pressure.
Self esteem, i.e feeling of guilt or shame or embarrassment.
Poor interpersonal relationship (i.e anger can damage marital relationship and other important relationships within the family and the society at large).
Children: children witnessing intensive anger in the household can be devastating as it can affect their upbringing negatively.
Work place: Anger in workplace can be frustrating to both workers and employers of labour as it tends to damage the organizational goals and objectives.
General health conditions: It has been documented that high levels of anger are associated with an increased risk of health problems like anxiety, depression and other psychological problems.
Poor appetite, restlessness, feeling uneasy within oneself.
General well-being
Physical pain (i.e chronic pain can make one feel angry about his or her conditions).
Anger management
Know the warning signs of anger.
Take good care of your physical and psychological health.
Assertive training (i.e learn to become assertive rather than aggressive).
Talk to your psychologist or other mental health professionals as regards your anger situation.
Changing one’s environment might work to some extent if immediate environment is the source of your anger.
Try to avoid your anger triggers.
Develop effective communication skills as a response to anger situation.
Make sure you get a good sleep.
Regular exercises are important like running, walking, jogging, yoga etc, to reduce stressful life conditions.
Engage in creative activities like dancing, making music, painting, e.t.c.to reduce stressful life conditions.
Walk out of anger situation or place.
Practice deep breathing exercises .
Keep note on positive things to do when you are angry.
Relax yourself when you are angry.
Try to avoid rumination of anger situation as it might be a trigger to your anger.
Take a cold shower.
Learn to forget and forgive a person that offended you.
Be positive about life generally.
Learn better problem-solving skills.
Use humours in anger situation.
Cognitive restructuring (i.e the goals is to replace stress-producing thought’s “cognitive distortions” with more balanced thought that do not produce stress).
Mental health problems: some mental health conditions may make us experience higher levels of anger.
Listen to good music of your choice
Better communication can be of help
In conclusion, anger can bring about physical, psychological and social problems in any given individual, hence, the need for individuals, families and the society at large to manage their anger situation effectively as highlighted in this article.
Dr Suleiman Tajudeen is a Clinical Psychology Doctor in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
