Bangalore: Anger affects the body as much as it does the mind. While hypertension may be the most noticeable effect, uncontrolled feelings of anger and outbursts of temper can tell elsewhere in the body too.

Signals

"Whenever you give way to extreme anger, the body starts sending certain signals which should not be ignored... otherwise you risk some major health problems,'' says general physician P. Eshwar.

Anger usually starts with tension; the muscles, especially in the neck or shoulders, tighten up and you could get a headache and feel your chest becoming taut.

Tension

The signs of tension are the body's way of letting you know there are unresolved emotional problems or difficulties at work that you have to deal with.

Tension also warns that you may be heading for a physical or emotional breakdown.

"What doctors once used to call a nervous breakdown is the result of too much pent-up tension of which anger is one component. While temper tantrums don't help, blowing off a bit of steam without directly hurting anyone may not be a bad idea sometimes,'' psycho therapist Sunanda Murthy says.

Extreme stress

Uncontrolled anger results in physical symptoms that include increased blood glucose levels, higher heart rate and blood pressure.

"You may find breathing difficult. You sweat, and the signs all point to extreme stress that can lead to chronic illness if not dealt with,'' Dr. Eshwar says.

Apart from these physical warning signals, anger can lead to poor concentration, below normal performance at work, difficulty in sleeping and a general lack of focus at work and at home.

Emotional problems

The resulting emotional problems can be depression, irritability, nervousness, unnecessary worry and fatigue without any reason.

"Such emotional problems can lead to abuse of alcohol or narcotics, smoking, compulsive behaviour disorders and make a person isolate himself from family and friends.

"These can be dealt with in the early stages when a person realises he is letting anger overcome him,'' Dr. Murthy says.

Work-related burnout

Within organisations, chronic anger can lead to a work-related burnout, poor relations with colleagues or superiors, accidents at work, a general dissatisfaction with the job that can even result in quitting the job.

These days, human resource personnel are trained to watch out for such behavioural problems among employees at all levels and refer them for counselling.

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