In today’s political climate, anger has stirred up protests throughout the nation. While parades and protests may have an immediate cathartic effect, clinicians and researchers report that anger can affect one’s health. From our physical health to our psychological well-being, anger is destructive.
With regard to our physical health, Levine et al., in a review article for Circulation, January 2021, reported: “There are good data showing clear associations between psychological health and CVD and risk; there is increasing evidence that psychological health may be causally linked to biological processes and behaviors that contribute to and cause CVD; the preponderance of data suggest that interventions to improve psychological health can have a beneficial.”
From a political perspective, researchers Webster et al, 2022, wrote in the Journal of Politics: “that based on the survey experiment on nearly 3,500 Americans, reported findings indicate that political anger harms democracy.” Further, the researchers noted, “political anger contributes to social polarization by causing Americans to cut off ties with opposing partisans.”
Effects of anger on emotional well-being
In terms of our emotional well-being, the American Psychological Association advises, “Control anger before it controls you,” Nov. 3, 2023. They noted that anger can take different forms. “Some people feel angry most of the time, or can’t stop dwelling on an event that made them mad. Others get angry less often, but when they do it comes out as explosive bouts of rage.”
Researchers have documented that mindfulness and gratitude can mitigate anger.
Emmons and Froh, 2019, reported: “Gratitude has been shown to contribute not only to an increase in happiness, health, and other desirable life outcomes but also to a decrease in negative affect and problematic functioning, including in patients with neuromuscular disease, college students, hypertensives, patients with cancer, health care providers, and early adolescents.”
Taking a positive approach dissipates anger
When teaching memoir writing to octogenarians several years ago, the most unhappy woman in one class was obsessed with anger that focused on a baby sister some 60 years earlier. It seems that while her girlfriends were pushing baby carriages with little dolls, she was pushing her own baby sister in a large pram.
When she finally wrote about her anger, and read her story to the group, the other women seemed almost jealous. “A real baby? How lucky for you!”
With the feedback from others she moved from anger to pride at her ability to care for the little child. Once she adopted the positive story of caring for her baby sister, her demeanor changed as well as her attitude. Such an attitude change was evident in college classes as well once students shifted the focus from anger to gratitude.
The role of gratitude and mindfulness
While it may seem contradictory to talk about anger along with gratitude, a bit of focus on the good in life can help create a place that allows gratitude to prevail. Also, mindfulness can be a powerful companion.
Dr. Judson Brewer, director of research and innovation at the Mindfulness Center at the Brown University School of Public Health in a Brown media interview with Jenna Pelletier said: “By tuning into the present moment, individuals can avoid spiraling into future-oriented worry. Practices like taking a few deep breaths or even brief moments of awareness allow people to remain grounded and engage thoughtfully, rather than reactively.”
Mindfulness fosters the freedom to be in the moment and not anticipate what might happen next. Savoring each moment frees us from distraction. It also keeps us from fretting about the past and worrying about the future. Additionally, mindfulness creates a place in our hearts for acceptance and gratitude.
Whether personal or professional, in daily life or political turmoil, expressing anger in a thoughtful way may be a spark that springs us into taking positive action to bring about change.
Copyright Rita Watson, MPH, 2025.
