"Research has shown that in young adults, spending 8 minutes recalling memories that evoke anger (but not sadness or anxiety) impairs the ability of blood vessels to relax for up to 40 minutes. Such changes have been shown to increase the risk of arterial plaque buildup, which hardens and narrows the arteries and increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Chronic anger also causes inflammation, which is linked to many medical conditions."
"Strong, chronic anger impairs the brain's ability to reason, make decisions, and problem-solve. It overactivates the amygdala, the brain's alarm center, making us more prone to act impulsively, overriding rational thinking, and keeping stress arousal high. At the same time, the prefrontal cortex, which manages planning, judgment, impulse control, empathy, and decision-making, goes offline, and blood flow is diverted away from areas involved in rational thinking."
Doreen continues to carry intense anger decades after an emotionally abusive father, and that anger produces tangible harms. Short bouts of recalled anger temporarily impair blood-vessel relaxation and increase risk factors for arterial plaque, heart attack, stroke, and systemic inflammation. Prolonged anger overactivates the amygdala while shutting down the prefrontal cortex, reducing planning, impulse control, empathy, and decision-making. Persistent rumination can degrade moral judgment and promote retributive aggression. Hostile behavior, sarcasm, distrust, and hypersensitivity push others away, erode relationships, and produce disproportionate emotional and aggressive responses to minor triggers.
Read at Psychology Today
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