Source: happydays.blogs.nytimes.com

NEW YORK, USA, June 25, 2009: There is a strong link between chronic anger and heart disease, according to a recent meta-analysis of 44 prospective studies in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It confirms a strong relationship between anger and both the onset and outcome from coronary heart disease.

Many people believe that unexpressed anger must necessarily “build up,” leading to resentment, high blood pressure, a heart attack or stroke. This mistaken idea, based on the concept that anger is a substance, leads to the belief that anger should be “released” so that we do not fall ill or explode in a fit of rage.

Challenging times increase the tendency for negative moods and aggressive behavior. Contemporary society subjects us to a constant barrage of annoyances. Moreover, many of us are angry at our former employers for loss of jobs or at the financial service industry’s inability to protect our life savings. However, giving way to anger makes nearly any situation worse. We may feel a temporary satisfaction when we lash out at another in anger, but this only fuels a vicious cycle as the other person seeks his own revenge.

The author, Robert Allan, is a clinical psychologist who works at the Weill Cornell Medical College, author of “Getting Control of Your Anger” and co-editor of “Heart and Mind: the Practice of Cardiac Psychology.”

Posted in Hindu Press International

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 3:04 AM and is filed under Hindu Press International. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.