Anger Makes Mouth Work Faster Than Mind

In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna articulates that, there are three gateways to hell of self-destruction for the soul. These are lust, anger and greed. Therefore one should abandon these three completely.

 

• Lust (Desire): If a person is lustful about something then he deviates from the primary objective of life. He is ready to do anything to satisfy his lust without thinking about right or wrong.
• Greed: Greed forces man to crave for more and more, and that drives him towards material pleasures and he is no more into the spiritual world. Attachment for material pleasures takes a man away from God.
• Anger: It destroys love and compassion. Anger makes a man violent. He is not compassionate to others. Angry people are not able to understand other’s feelings and thoughts. Anger blocks the ability to love and respect. Also, anger leads to irrational thinking. They are unable to see the reality as it is.

So, lust, greed and anger actually disturb the balance of mind and soul. These things block the spiritual path and therefore called the gateways to hell.

 

A Basic Human Emotion - Anger 

All of us definitely get irritated, annoyed, frustrated and angry with this person or that person for this reason or that reason. We want things done in certain way and when they are not done in that way, we get angry. Anger may be the outcome of frustration, humiliation, jealousy, hurt or sadness, feeling unable to control a situation, feeling threatened or frightened, feeling misunderstood or not listened to and so on.

Anger is seen in the way we speak, change in facial expressions, irritation and a raise in our voice. If we further lose control, we may shout, slam a door, bang the table or even physically strike somebody. Whatever it is, the fact remains that all of us do get angry, difference being only in the intensity and frequency of emotion.

 

Does Anger Create Problems?

Anger is a normal emotion. However, anger becomes a problem when it begins to affect a person’s daily life and causes them to react in ways that might hurt themselves and/or others around them. In general, anger can give birth to various problems like:

• Physical health: Constantly operating at high levels of stress and anger can make us more susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, a weakened immune system, insomnia, and high blood pressure.
• Mental health: Chronic anger consumes huge amounts of mental energy, and clouds our thinking, making it harder to concentrate or enjoy life. It can also lead to stress, depression, and other mental health problems.
• Career: Constructive criticism, creative differences, and heated debate can be healthy. But lashing out only alienates our colleagues, supervisors, or clients and erodes their respect.
• Relationships: Anger can cause lasting scars in the people we love most and get in the way of friendships and work relationships. Explosive anger makes it hard for others to trust us, speak honestly, or feel comfortable—and is especially damaging to children.

 

Tips For Managing Our Anger And Deal With Someone Else’s Anger

• Breathe: Anger is often an instant response to a situation. It can range from mild frustration to an immense temper. But, most of the time, anger reduces or calms down. So if we find ourselves feeling weighed down by anger, we should take a few minutes to breathe deeply so as to calm down.
• Step Away: Words said in anger are rarely well thought out. And we can’t take them back. If we find ourselves really angry at a colleague, sometimes it’s better just to admit those feelings. It’s fine to say, “I just need a few minutes to be alone and get my thoughts together.”
• Think About It: Very often we are angry about the things we misunderstood. We may think our friend did something purposely to upset us, but when we look closer at the situation realize it was unintentional. Or something that really annoyed us – like brother eating the last of your favorite chocolate – may seem less important on second thought. So, just think about it.
• Laughter Therapy: Dr. Asthana (Boman Irani) in the movie ‘Munnabhai MBBS’, gave a strong message to advocate laughter therapy whenever anger sets in. It is the practice of reminding oneself of the intrusion of anger so as not to let it interfere on one’s intellect. The practice of pressing the panic button is what we have to habituate ourselves with in this fight with anger.
• Express It (The Right Way): Sometimes we get angry because the same things keep happening over and over – our partner interrupts us, or a colleague keeps making mistakes. Addressing these problems in a moment of anger can make things worse. But it is important to bring it up in the right way because the other person(s) involved may not realize they are making you angry. We can express our feelings in healthy ways to  resolve conflict in a positive way considering the following aspects-
• Make the relationship your priority. Respect the other person and their viewpoint.
• Focus on the present. Rather than looking to the past and assigning blame, focus on what we can do in the present to solve the problem.
• Be willing to forgive. Resolving conflict is impossible if we’re unwilling or unable to forgive.

 

Anger is like a poison. Would we want to drown in it?

Offcourse, No. We should try to cultivate an attitude of calmness at all times. Taking care of our overall mental and physical well being can help us ease tension and diffuse anger problems.

• Manage stress: We can try practicing relaxation techniques such as mindfulness meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, or deep breathing.
• Talk to someone we trust: Nothing eases stress more effectively than chatting face-to-face with a friend or loved one. The person doesn’t have to provide answer; they just need to be a good listener
• Get enough sleep: We can try to get seven to nine hours of good quality sleep.
• Exercise regularly: It’s an effective way to ease stress, feel relaxed and positive throughout the day.