Anger Management
Improves Heart Health
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine 2002;
162:901-906.
A recent study suggests that men who have poor anger
management skills are more likely to suffer a heart attack
before age 55 than are their mild-mannered peers.
Observation of more than 1,000 men found that those who
responded to stress with anger and irritation were three
times more likely to be diagnosed with heart disease, and
five times more likely to suffer a heart attack before age
55. Study authors noted that the heart attack/disease risk
persisted regardless of cholesterol levels, body mass index,
and blood pressure. Dr. Patricia Change, the study's lead
author emphasized the role of
anger management as a tool to reduce the risk of
premature heart disease, the leading cause of death in the
United States.
Source: Monitor on Psychology, (32) Number 3, 3 March
2003, p. 54
Discusses the lack of diagnostic criteria for anger
within the psychological community while recognizing the
need for a treatment protocol for those who suffer excessive
anger. Cites Colorado State University psychologist Jerry
Deffenbacher, PhD promoting three strategies, alone or in
combination, that have empirical support for helping with
the task of anger management. The strategies--relaxation,
cognitive therapy and skill development--are not new ideas,
but newly applied to anger.
Controlling Anger- Before it Controls You
American Psychological Association
March 2007
Anger is a
completely normal, usually healthy, human emotion. But when
it gets out of control and turns destructive, it can lead to
problems—problems at work, in your personal relationships,
and in the overall quality of your life. And it can make you
feel as though you're at the mercy of an unpredictable and
powerful emotion.
Source:
Archives of Internal
Medicine, October
27, 1997
Almost everyone remembers when the research about Type A
personalities was made public. It showed that men who were
controlling, workaholic, and intense are more likely than
others to suffer from heart disease and other stress-related
illness. A report by a Duke University research team filled
in an important piece of previously missing information
about Type A personalities. The team's question was, "What
specific personality characteristic causes physical
illness?" The answer it found: Anger. The Duke University
study showed that cognitive/behavioral stress reduction
sessions lowered the level of both anger and anxiety in
patients with chronic heart problems, and that their
physical improvement was related specifically to a reduction
in their anger.
Source:
University of South
Australia: Forensic and Applied Psychology Research Group,
November 2003.
A previous study of 200 violent offenders in WA and SA,
by researchers from UniSA’s Forensic and Applied Psychology
Research Group, revealed that offenders who were not ready
to undertake treatment showed almost no improvement in
anger
management after undergoing a treatment program. Offenders
who were motivated and ready to work on their anger problems
showed greater improvements on a wide range of anger
measures.
Hostility puts men's hearts at Risk
Ten years of frequent hostility and depression may harm men's
immune systems and put them at risk for heart disease, a U.S.
study found. Angry men are more likely to have increased levels
of C3, an immune system protein associated with chronic
inflammation say researchers at Duke University.
Managing Emotions in the Workplace: Do
Positive and Negative Attitudes Drive Performance?
You know the type: coworkers who never have anything positive
to say, whether at the weekly staff meeting or in the cafeteria
line. They can suck the energy from a brainstorming session with
a few choice comments. Their bad mood frequently puts others in
one, too. Their negativity can contaminate even good news. “We
engage in emotional contagion,” says Sigal Barsade, a Wharton
management professor who studies the influence of emotions on
the workplace. “Emotions travel from person to person like a
virus
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