Better practice what you preach, Dr. Bob. And I should have been angry.
By all rights I should have been. On the way to run the Blues marathon three
weeks ago, I ran over my computer in a hotel parking lot. Yes, it was broken.
But I didn’t get angry … even though it was a stupid self-generated mistake.
Then a week later, my wife wound up in the hospital for nearly the last two
weeks. And I didn’t get angry. Why not?
Anger, it boils up the blood, according to Satchel Paige, the great
African-American baseball pitcher. Mr. Paige was right on, although he probably didn’t read any studies on the psychoneuroimmunologic effect of anger in the
bloodstream. Of course these studies have only been done fairly recently.
Satchel passed away long ago.
There are two basic problems with displays of anger. First, anger damages
one’s immune system and, if long term, it can lead to disease. Secondly, being
angry can lead to words or actions that you might regret. No one enjoys dealing
with an angry person.
Let’s examine the immune reaction. For the latest studies, you can Google
“anger and NK cells” and find many studies on this topic. When we let ourselves
become angry (Yes, becoming angry is a personal choice – we’re not animals that
react instinctively), a chemical reaction starts in our brain, eventually
releasing a chemical called cortisol into our bloodstream. This can easily be
measured by blood samples. Scientists also know that when cortisol levels are
high, the concentration of NK cells is lower. Again, this is verified in blood
testing.
NK cells, a white blood cell type called “natural killer cell,”
constitute a big part of our body’s ability to fight disease. NK cells fight
bacterial infections, viral attacks (the common cold), and even cancer cells.
When NK cells are diminished, our bodies are at risk. Much recent research has
confirmed this.
My late wife’s demise was partially related to anger. About half-way
through our 33-year marriage, she revealed that her brother sexually abused her
well over 1,000 times during her youth. She kept it a secret but her angry
outbursts, which increased over the years, led me to suspect something was
wrong. Once she disclosed the abuse, her anger subsided but never completely
disappeared, surfacing every now and then. You can understand what this did to
her immunity. Eventually she contracted a bizarre terminal cancer that took her
life within a year. You can fill in the blanks.
Anger is also strongly associated with cardiovascular disease: heart
attacks, hypertension, increased cholesterol, and depression. Anger has also
been linked to ulcers and cancer and probably plays a role in many auto-immune
diseases. So, why get angry?
Learning self-control is not easy. Perhaps looking at the second piece of
the puzzle might help. When we’re angry, we often say and do things we regret.
Slinging verbal shots at our employees, our spouse, our children can inflict
mental wounds that scar as much as physical ones. When a drug deal goes bad in
the inner city, does the angry party rationally discuss the problem? No, a few
gun shots ring out and somebody invariably drops dead. Angry words and, even
worse, physical violence hurt us all.
Why do we get angry? Isn’t it usually because either something doesn’t go
our way or something falls below our expectations? I remember clearly the death
of my wife and my anger over that. She was a good person so why should she die so young, I asked myself. The next day I ran speed intervals, way too many of them, with a running group on a high
school track. It seemed to defuse my anger, although a few days later a tear in
my hamstring made me realize my mistake.
I often read books on the Holocaust and the horrible tribulations
suffered by its victims from about 1938 to 1945. Each book I read gives new
meaning to the words, cruelty and inhumanity, and makes me wonder how anyone
could survive that Nazi brutality. So, today when I ran a few miles in a 30-mph
wind with a chill factor in the teens, I thought of the Holocaust prisoners
being marched out of the extermination camps in similar cold weather to build
German railroad lines. Of course, they wore only threadbare clothing and
makeshift shoes and didn’t have socks or gloves – a far cry from my insulated
running gear.
Life is relative and the sooner that is understood, the better. Yes, some
have it better than others but some have it worse, much worse. Keeping
perspective is wise and may help one to avoid becoming angry. Next time you feel
the anger monster about to appear, count to ten slowly, and then decide what you
want to say. And think about those Holocaust inmates marching barefoot in the
snow. That’s what this LifeNut does.
By all rights I should have been. On the way to run the Blues marathon three
weeks ago, I ran over my computer in a hotel parking lot. Yes, it was broken.
But I didn’t get angry … even though it was a stupid self-generated mistake.
Then a week later, my wife wound up in the hospital for nearly the last two
weeks. And I didn’t get angry. Why not?
Anger, it boils up the blood, according to Satchel Paige, the great
African-American baseball pitcher. Mr. Paige was right on, although he probably didn’t read any studies on the psychoneuroimmunologic effect of anger in the
bloodstream. Of course these studies have only been done fairly recently.
Satchel passed away long ago.
There are two basic problems with displays of anger. First, anger damages
one’s immune system and, if long term, it can lead to disease. Secondly, being
angry can lead to words or actions that you might regret. No one enjoys dealing
with an angry person.
Let’s examine the immune reaction. For the latest studies, you can Google
“anger and NK cells” and find many studies on this topic. When we let ourselves
become angry (Yes, becoming angry is a personal choice – we’re not animals that
react instinctively), a chemical reaction starts in our brain, eventually
releasing a chemical called cortisol into our bloodstream. This can easily be
measured by blood samples. Scientists also know that when cortisol levels are
high, the concentration of NK cells is lower. Again, this is verified in blood
testing.
NK cells, a white blood cell type called “natural killer cell,”
constitute a big part of our body’s ability to fight disease. NK cells fight
bacterial infections, viral attacks (the common cold), and even cancer cells.
When NK cells are diminished, our bodies are at risk. Much recent research has
confirmed this.
My late wife’s demise was partially related to anger. About half-way
through our 33-year marriage, she revealed that her brother sexually abused her
well over 1,000 times during her youth. She kept it a secret but her angry
outbursts, which increased over the years, led me to suspect something was
wrong. Once she disclosed the abuse, her anger subsided but never completely
disappeared, surfacing every now and then. You can understand what this did to
her immunity. Eventually she contracted a bizarre terminal cancer that took her
life within a year. You can fill in the blanks.
Anger is also strongly associated with cardiovascular disease: heart
attacks, hypertension, increased cholesterol, and depression. Anger has also
been linked to ulcers and cancer and probably plays a role in many auto-immune
diseases. So, why get angry?
Learning self-control is not easy. Perhaps looking at the second piece of
the puzzle might help. When we’re angry, we often say and do things we regret.
Slinging verbal shots at our employees, our spouse, our children can inflict
mental wounds that scar as much as physical ones. When a drug deal goes bad in
the inner city, does the angry party rationally discuss the problem? No, a few
gun shots ring out and somebody invariably drops dead. Angry words and, even
worse, physical violence hurt us all.
Why do we get angry? Isn’t it usually because either something doesn’t go
our way or something falls below our expectations? I remember clearly the death
of my wife and my anger over that. She was a good person so why should she die so young, I asked myself. The next day I ran speed intervals, way too many of them, with a running group on a high
school track. It seemed to defuse my anger, although a few days later a tear in
my hamstring made me realize my mistake.
I often read books on the Holocaust and the horrible tribulations
suffered by its victims from about 1938 to 1945. Each book I read gives new
meaning to the words, cruelty and inhumanity, and makes me wonder how anyone
could survive that Nazi brutality. So, today when I ran a few miles in a 30-mph
wind with a chill factor in the teens, I thought of the Holocaust prisoners
being marched out of the extermination camps in similar cold weather to build
German railroad lines. Of course, they wore only threadbare clothing and
makeshift shoes and didn’t have socks or gloves – a far cry from my insulated
running gear.
Life is relative and the sooner that is understood, the better. Yes, some
have it better than others but some have it worse, much worse. Keeping
perspective is wise and may help one to avoid becoming angry. Next time you feel
the anger monster about to appear, count to ten slowly, and then decide what you
want to say. And think about those Holocaust inmates marching barefoot in the
snow. That’s what this LifeNut does.
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