Why You’re Feeling Angry Lately—and How to Cool Down

frustrated woman in a car
Chronic anger harms your brain and mental health. Learn what brain scans reveal and find six anger management tools to help you cool off.

Feeling angry these days? Join the club. Nearly 90%of Americans say a recent political issue or news story has triggered their anger, according to the latest Mood of the Nation Poll. And 46% of them said it made them “extremely angry.”

There’s a lot to be upset about—divisive politics, economic stress, social unrest, ongoing global conflict, rising mental health struggles, and even the relentless negativity in the news cycle. These are just some of the causes of increased anger.

Social media fans the flames, feeding us a constant stream of outrage-inducing content. It’s no wonder so many people feel like they’re at a breaking point.

But here’s the problem: chronic anger doesn’t just make life more stressful—it actually harms your brain. When anger simmers or explodes regularly, it can lead to serious consequences for your mental health, physical well-being, and relationships.

In this blog, you’ll discover what anger does to your brain, why anger management is essential for your emotional and cognitive health, and practical strategies to help you cool down and regain control.

Chronic anger doesn’t just make life more stressful—it actually harms your brain and can lead to serious consequences for your mental health, physical well-being, and relationships.

THE RISKS OF UNRESTRAINED ANGER

Uncontrolled anger is detrimental in so many ways, negatively affecting relationships, physical health, and mental well-being.

  • Ruinous for relationships: Having a short temper harms romantic connections, family dynamics, friendships, and work relationships.

  • Higher risk of heart disease: A study in the journal Circulation found that people who are prone to anger have twice the risk of coronary heart disease than those who aren’t as angry.

  • Increased risk of stroke: People are at three times the risk of having a stroke in the two hours following an angry outburst, based on research.

  • Weakened immune system function: Anger also dampens the immune system, according to a study from Spanish scientists.

  • Decreased lung function: Higher levels of hostility are associated with greater declines in lung function, according to research.

  • Increased anxiety: Anger can worsen generalized anxiety disorder, based on findings from a study in Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

  • Linked to other mental health issues: Anger is also recognized as a symptom that is associated with several other mental health conditions, including clinical depression, ADHD, personality disorders, and substance abuse.

Related: Intermittent Explosive Disorder: Symptoms and Treatment

THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF ANGER: UNDERSTANDING THE BRAIN’S ROLE IN AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR

Anger is a complex emotion that involves various regions of the brain, each contributing to how we experience and express this powerful feeling. Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of anger can provide valuable insights into managing and mitigating its effects.​

Neurotransmitters and Hormones Influencing Anger

  • Serotonin: Low levels of serotonin have been linked to increased aggression and impulsivity. This neurotransmitter helps regulate mood, and its deficiency can impair the ability to control emotional responses. ​

  • Testosterone: Higher levels of testosterone have been associated with aggressive behavior. This hormone influences areas of the brain involved in regulating emotions and social behaviors. ​

  • Cortisol: Known as the stress hormone, cortisol’s interaction with other hormones and neurotransmitters can affect aggression levels. Chronic stress leading to elevated cortisol may contribute to heightened anger responses. ​

Understanding the Brain’s Anger Circuitry

The interplay between these brain regions and chemicals forms a network that governs our experience of anger:

  • Threat Detection: The amygdala rapidly assesses sensory information for potential threats, initiating an immediate emotional response.​

  • Response Coordination: The hypothalamus activates the autonomic nervous system, leading to physiological changes that prepare the body for action.​

  • Behavioral Regulation: The prefrontal cortex evaluates the appropriateness of the anger response, applying brakes when necessary to prevent undesirable actions.​

  • Execution of Response: The periaqueductal gray integrates signals from the amygdala and hypothalamus to produce defensive behaviors.​

Having explored the neurobiological foundations of anger, it’s essential to recognize how these internal mechanisms interact with external factors, such as environmental stressors and personal experiences, in shaping our emotional responses.

WHAT BRAIN SCANS REVEAL ABOUT ANGER AND AGGRESSION

Anger issues can be a sign of trouble in the brain. In a study in the Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, the research team at Amen Clinics performed brain SPECT imaging studies on 40 individuals who had physically attacked another person or destroyed property as well as on 40 non-aggressive people as controls.

The SPECT scans of the people with aggressive behavior showed significant differences from the control group in several brain regions. These included:

  • Decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex. Low activity in this area is associated with poor impulse control.

  • Increased activity in the basal ganglia and limbic system. These patterns are often seen in people with anxiety and depression.

  • Temporal lobes abnormalities. More than 70% of the aggressive people had abnormalities in the left temporal lobe region of the brain. The temporal lobes are involved in mood stability, memory, and learning.

Dysfunction here is associated with irritability, anger, and violent thoughts. Common causes of temporal lobe problems include genetics, head injuries, and exposure to toxins or infections.

Related: 7 Lessons from Murderers’ Brain Scans

6 ANGER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

The good news is you can control temper flare-ups even in the worst situations. The following six steps have proven to be helpful for many Amen Clinics patients.

  1. Know and focus on your goals. If you want to have a kind, caring, loving relationship with your spouse or children, write it down on a piece of paper and look at it every day. Then always ask yourself, “Does my behavior get me what I want?”

  2. Keep track of when you get angry. Write them down and learn as much about those times as possible. Know your vulnerable times, so you can learn from them and avoid them in the future.

  3. 5 x 2 = 10. Whenever you start to react in an angry or irritated way, get control of your breathing. Even before we are consciously aware of being upset, our breathing starts to become faster and shallower, making it more likely we’ll lose control of our behavior.  Whenever you start feeling irritated, take a deep breath (5 seconds in, hold it for 2 seconds, then slowly breathe out for 5 seconds). Repeat that pattern 10 times. This will give you plenty of oxygen for your brain to make a thoughtful decision.

Press Play to Learn More About How to Calm Anger

In this video, Dr. Daniel Amen reveals why some people have what he call the Angry Dragon, one of the mental “dragons” that are constantly breathing fire on the emotional centers of the brain. Find out if you have this dragon, what causes it, what triggers it, and how to tame it.

Click below to tune in:

Video: 8 Ways to Soothe Anger

  1. Make a list. Write and keep handy a list of 10 things you can do when you get upset in order to distract yourself. Distraction is a powerful anger management technique. Common distractions include taking a walk, calling a friend, saying a prayer, and doing a simple meditation.
  2. Play it out. Ask yourself: if you react in an angry way to the situation at hand, what will happen to your relationships, to your goals, to those you love? Think about immediate and long-term effects. Forethought is a strength of the human brain. Use it to keep yours under control.
  3. Seek help. If you’re having trouble controlling your anger, and it’s causing significant problems in your relationships or in your career, it’s time to get professional help. It’s worth investigating if underlying brain dysfunction is contributing to feelings of rage or anger related to mental health conditions.

THE BOTTOM LINE ON ANGER AND YOUR BRAIN

Anger may feel justified in the moment, but when it lingers or erupts uncontrollably, it can damage your brain, your body, and your life. Understanding the neurobiology of anger—and seeing how it shows up on brain scans—proves that this emotion is more than just a fleeting feeling. It’s a brain health issue that deserves your attention.

The good news is, you don’t have to stay stuck in a cycle of rage or regret. With the right tools and support, you can learn to manage your anger, protect your brain, and build healthier relationships. Your brain can change—and when it does, your life can, too.

Anger, depression, ADHD, and other mental health issues can’t wait. At Amen Clinics, we provide personalized, science-backed treatment plans designed to target the root causes of your symptoms. Our 360-approach includes brain SPECT imaging, clinical evaluations, innovative therapeutic techniques, medications (when necessary), and holistic lifestyle recommendations to promote the health of your brain, body, and mind. Speak to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.

Amen Clinics

Founded in 1989 by double-board certified psychiatrist and neuroscientist Daniel G. Amen, MD, Amen Clinics Inc. (ACI) is known as the best brain and mental health company in the world. Our clinical staff includes over 50 healthcare specialists, including adult and child psychiatrists, integrative (functional) medicine physicians, naturopaths, addiction specialists, forensic psychiatrists, geriatric psychiatrists, nutritionists, licensed therapists, and more. Our clinicians have all been hand-selected and personally trained by Dr. Amen, whose mission is to end mental illness by creating a revolution in brain health. Over the last 35-plus years, ACI has built the world’s largest database of functional brain scans—over 250,000 SPECT scans on patients from 155 countries—related to how people think, feel, and behave.

Helmstetter C, et al. Mood of the Nation: Angry. APM Research Lab, April 23, 2024. https://www.apmresearchlab.org/motn/what-makes-americans-angry-proud

Williams JE, et al. Anger Proneness Predicts Coronary Heart Disease Risk : Prospective Analysis From the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) Study. Circulation. Volume 101, Number 17. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.101.17.2034

Mostofsky, Elizabeth et al. “Outbursts of anger as a trigger of acute cardiovascular events: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” European heart journal vol. 35,21 (2014): 1404-10. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehu033

Romero-Martínez, A et al. “High Immunoglobulin A Levels Mediate the Association Between High Anger Expression and Low Somatic Symptoms in Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators.” Journal of interpersonal violence vol. 31,4 (2016): 732-42. doi:10.1177/0886260514556107

Kubzansky, L D et al. “Angry breathing: A prospective study of hostility and lung function in the Normative Aging Study.” Thorax vol. 61,10 (2006): 863-8. doi:10.1136/thx.2005.050971

Deschenes SS, et al. The Role of Anger in Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. March 2012Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 41(3):261-71

DOI:10.1080/16506073.2012.666564

Amen, D. G., Stubblefield, M., Carmichael, B., & Thisted, R. (1996). Brain SPECT Findings and Aggressiveness. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 8(3), 129–137. https://doi.org/10.3109/10401239609147750

 

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