“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” – James 1:19-20 NIV
The emotion of anger is common and neither good nor negative. It signals to us that a situation is upsetting, unfair, or dangerous, just like any other emotion. However, if our automatic response to anger is to erupt in wrath, that message is never allowed to be spoken. So, even though it is entirely acceptable to feel angry when we have been treated unfairly or wrongfully, anger becomes a challenge when we use it as an excuse to harm either ourselves or other people.
We may believe that expressing our rage is beneficial, that others close to us are overly sensitive, that our anger is legitimate, or that we must act furiously to earn respect. The truth is that anger is considerably more likely to damage our reputation, cloud our judgment, and obstruct our progress.
Photo source: Keira Burton
Effects of anger on us.
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Mental health
Recurrent rage drains our cognitive capacity and blurs our judgment, making it difficult to focus or enjoy life. Anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues might result from it as well.
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Physical health
We are more prone to heart disease, hypertension, a compromised immune system, sleeplessness, and high blood pressure if we are always under a lot of stress and anger.
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Career
It can be beneficial to have heated debates, creative disagreements, and constructive critiques. However, being angry simply serves to annoy and lose the respect of our coworkers, superiors, or clients.
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Relationships
Anger can ruin friendships and professional connections and leave long-lasting wounds on the people we care about the most. Intense anger is especially harmful to children because it makes it difficult for them to trust us, talk openly, or feel comfortable.
Why anger management is beneficial to us
Many of us believe that mastering the art of controlling our anger is the goal of anger management. Avoiding anger altogether is not a wise goal. No matter how hard we try to control our anger, it will eventually come out. The real objective of anger management is to recognize the meaning of the emotion and express it healthily without losing control, not to conceal angry impulses. Not only will we feel better after doing this, but we will also be more likely to get our needs met, be able to handle conflict in our life better, and build stronger relationships.
It takes effort to master the discipline of controlling our anger, but with continued practice, it gets simpler. The reward is enormous as well. Our relationships will improve, our goals will be accomplished, and we will have a healthier, more fulfilling life if we learn to manage our anger and express it responsibly.
Even while it may seem impossible to control our anger if we have a quick temper, we have more power over it than we realize. This realization enables us to learn how to communicate our feelings without offending others and prevents our rage from taking over our lives.