All About Anger: Definition, Health Effects, and How to Better Manage This Common Emotion

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When you think of anger, what do you picture? If you’re like many people, you might imagine someone yelling, swearing, or even punching a wall. But that’s based on a common misunderstanding, says Nixaly Yakubov, LCSW , author of The CBT Workbook for Anger Management: Evidence-Based Exercises to Help You Understand Your Triggers and Take Charge of Your Emotions and therapist at Practical Online Therapy in Long Island, New York. Those behaviors are actually examples of aggression (a harmful behavior), not anger (a common emotion). “A lot of times people consider anger to be the same as aggression, but it’s not,” Yakubov says. Here, learn what anger really is, what causes it, and how it impacts your health. Plus, strategies to better manage it.
What Is Anger? Definition Anger is “an emotion characterized by tension and hostility arising from frustration, real or imagined injury by another, or perceived injustice,” according to the American Psychological Association (APA) . It’s an internal experience, notable for feeling high-energy and unpleasant, says Raymond W. Novaco, PhD , professor of psychological science at the University of California in Irvine. And while that sounds like a bad combination, Dr. Novaco, who has studied anger for decades, says it’s a normal emotion with adaptive functions. He says it can help us notice something wrong, overcome obstacles, solve problems, and make social change. Still, left unchecked, anger can lead to aggression and other harm.
What Causes Anger? Causes Anger starts when you perceive a threat, says Novaco. The danger may or may not be real, but if it’s real to you, that’s all it can take to trigger the emotion. Physical threats (like someone with a knife) and psychological threats (like feeling disrespected) can both cause anger, he adds. Beyond these immediate causes, if you zoom out, you might find other factors that helped make you more likely to feel angry, says Novaco. He says things that may be bothering you physically or emotionally can set you up for anger, including: Tension Pain Fatigue Hunger Life experiences (including childhood trauma or experiencing racism, notes research ) Thinking patterns (“They always disrespect me”) Anger can also be related to an underlying mental health disorder, says Julie Catalano, LCSW , author of The Anger Management Workbook for Women: A 5-Step Guide to Managing Your Emotions and Breaking the Cycle of Anger and executive director and therapist at Neighborhood Counseling and Community Services in North Cambridge, Massachusetts. No, you won’t find an anger disorder in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) . But you will find many mental illnesses that list symptoms related to anger — among them post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and intermittent explosive disorder (IED).
Types of Anger Types Categorizing anger is idiosyncratic, says Novaco. Some helpful ways to think about anger have to do with its pattern over time, how you react, and, ultimately, whether it’s a problem, he says. State vs. Trait Anger To understand angry feelings, mental health professionals sometimes distinguish between whether you happen to be currently angry (state anger) or whether you are often angry about a lot of things (trait anger) using a survey called the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) , a 44-item self-report questionnaire developed by psychologist Charles D. Spielberger, PhD , in 1999. Types of Anger Expression Anger expression has to do with how you react or respond to anger, says Yakubov. Here are the three main ways someone might deal with anger, drawn from the STAXI-2. Anger-in: This style relies on suppressing how you feel, and it means you deal with anger internally — by ignoring it, denying it, or criticizing yourself. Anger-out: When someone is aggressive — acting out verbally or physically — that’s anger-out. Think slamming doors and cruel remarks. Anger-out captures both passive-aggressive and active-aggressive behavior. Anger control: This refers to managing angry feelings through healthy strategies like calming down or assertive communication and problem-solving. Problem Anger When it comes to everyday life, the most important way to think about anger is whether it’s problematic, Novaco says. Here are the characteristics of problem anger, according to Novaco, echoed in the Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences chapter on anger he authored: Frequency: How often do you get angry? Generally, feeling truly angry daily is a lot, though what’s normal varies by culture. Latency: How rapidly do you react? Reacting too quickly can lead to impulsivity and failure to consider consequences. Intensity: How intense is your anger? “High-intensity anger is almost always problematic,” says Novaco. When people are furious, they typically do something they wish they hadn’t. Duration: How long does it last? Long-lasting anger can fuel thoughts of revenge and violence. Plus, when someone’s already angry, future threats will feel even bigger, leading to stronger reactions. Violent expression: Do you hurt yourself, others, or your physical surroundings when you’re angry? That’s aggression and a sign of problematic anger. Social expectations come into play here, notes Yakubov. She says that typically women are seen as gentle and nurturing, so females may have more consequences for expressing anger than males. Research along these lines suggests that anger may have a greater social and personal cost for women than men. One related study found that women who express anger are more prone to depressive symptoms down the line compared with men. It’s also true that — due to stereotypes — people of color may be unfairly seen as angry when they’re not. “It’s just assumed that if they’re not smiling, they’re angry,” says Yakubov. Research — including one set of studies that demonstrate the stereotype’s prevalence in the workplace and a case study of how the stereotype may show up in mental health therapy — suggests this harmful stereotype is widespread, and may adversely impact people of color in many everyday situations.
What Anger Feels Like Symptoms Anger is an intense, unpleasant feeling. But so are fear and anxiety. So how can you tell the difference? Here are the signs and symptoms of anger. You Feel a Surge of Energy When you’re angry, your body readies itself for a fight, according to a research review published in January 2020 in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review . You might notice these physical symptoms, according to Catalano, Novaco, and Yakubov: Rapid, shallow breathing Increased blood pressure Racing heart Facial flushing (red face) Feeling hot Muscle tension Tight shoulders Clenched jaw Hands in fists Crying An adrenaline rush You’re Ready for Confrontation Anger makes you want to approach your problems rather than avoid them, says Yakubov. Fear or anxiety might make you feel helpless or like pulling away, but when you’re angry you feel like you can do something about what’s bothering you. You Have Tunnel Vision According to a series of studies examining how anger impacts pattern recognition, anger narrows attention. You’ll have tunnel vision that focuses on the negative, Yakubov says — typically toward the people and things that make you angry. You Say You Feel Annoyed “There’s a spectrum of anger,” says Yakubov. Annoyance, irritation, and frustration are all anger on a smaller scale — while feeling furious or enraged covers the other extreme. Remember, it’s also possible to experience more than one feeling at once. “A lot of times, there’s a lot of feelings going on besides anger,” says Catalano. You may feel disappointed or overwhelmed at the same time that you’re angry.
How Anger Affects Your Body and Health Effects “Anger is the emotional component of the fight-or-flight response,” says Novaco. That means when you’re angry, your autonomic nervous system activates and your heart rate increases, muscles tense, and adrenaline releases, according to The International Handbook of Anger . This is all normal and healthy, but if your body is stuck in this state for too long or too often, anger could lead to problems for your health and well-being, says Novaco. Here are some of the potential consequences of feeling angry overtime. Anger May Be Hard on Your Heart Right after an angry episode, you’re at an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a review . Research also links angry outbursts to higher blood pressure, particularly for certain groups, including older Black and white males in the United States. Heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure all put pressure on your heart, meaning anger can harm your heart over time. Anger May Lead to Chronic Inflammation and Illness A study of older adults ages 59 to 93 used surveys and blood draws to see how emotions, chronic illness, and inflammation were related. The results suggest that anger may have contributed to developing chronic diseases via inflammation for the oldest adults (who were older than 82) studied. Anger May Worsen Chronic Pain When people with chronic pain get angry, their pain intensifies, research suggests. But, in the short term, anger may dampen pain for some individuals, acting as an analgesic, according to another study . More research is needed to untangle the relationship between pain and anger. Anger May Be Bad for Your Mental Health Anger dysregulation, Novaco says, is a transdiagnostic process, meaning that uncontrolled anger plays a role in many mental health disorders, a point he also made in a book chapter on anger and psychopathology in the International Handbook of Anger . Researchers continue to tease out the ways that anger interfaces with symptoms of mental illness, including through a study during the COVID-19 pandemic where survey results pointed toward anger’s contribution to depressive symptoms. Anger May Ruin Relationships You can’t have authentic relationships when you’re not being real about how you feel or let resentment build, two unhealthy ways of processing anger, says Catalano. Plus, when you’re not managing your anger well — swearing, yelling, throwing things — it can be scary for others, making it difficult to connect, she says. Anger May Increase Risk of Violence (Including Suicide) Although anger can be safely felt and expressed, it’s also true that uncontrolled anger is linked to aggression, says Novaco. One study published in July 2022 in the Journal of Psychiatric Research polled nearly 13,000 U.S. military veterans on anger, violence, and suicide, finding a correlative relationship between the emotion and violent outcomes. Anger May Impact Different Groups Differently Anger’s health impacts seem to differ depending on who you are and where you live. In one study , Americans who said they were angrier in surveys had worse health markers (like blood pressure and cholesterol), but the findings were flipped for Japanese participants: Japanese participants who said they expressed anger more readily had fewer of the same health risk factors.
How to Manage Anger: The Dos and Don’ts Prevention If anger carries all those health risks, does it mean you should try to eliminate it? Not at all, says Novaco. “Anger is a normal human emotion — there’s no reason to get rid of it.” The key is to manage anger in ways that are healthy and safe. What Not to Do When You’re Angry To start, it helps to know how not to manage anger. While these reactions are common, they aren’t the best coping methods. Don’t suppress. Addressing what’s bothering you can feel overwhelming, so you might be tempted to bottle up your anger instead. But Catalano warns that stuffing down anger isn’t healthy and tends to backfire. Don’t stew. Research shows that angry rumination (where you mentally replay what happened repeatedly) seems to just make you angrier. Don’t judge. Research on meta-emotions links negative feelings about negative feelings (like “I often think my negative emotions are bad”) to lower psychological well-being and increased depression and anxiety symptoms. Don’t punch a pillow. When you act out your anger, even toward an inanimate object, it just rehearses anger, making it last longer than it would if you distracted yourself, according to a study on venting anger.
What to Do When You’re Angry Coping With So what should you do instead? Try these holistic approaches. Calm down. In the heat of the moment, your goal should be to relax enough that your judgment comes back online, says Catalano. You’ll need it to resolve issues that are important to you. Walk away, take deep breaths, do jumping jacks, say a mantra — whatever works. Change your thinking. When you think someone’s purposefully hurting you, you’re more likely to get angry, says Catalano. She adds that misattribution of people’s motives or intentions is one of the biggest drivers of anger. Taking a bigger view can help. Be assertive. “You can be angry about something and say, ‘Okay, I’m gonna have a conversation with this person about it,’” says Yakubov. Practice self-care. If you don’t take care of your body, your mind won’t be well either, Yakubov says. Research supports the idea that a poor physical state can lower the threshold to anger, including one study on sleep deprivation and another study on alcohol use. Pay attention. Controlling anger starts with self-monitoring, says Novaco. He likens the process to keeping tabs on the thermostat to better control a room’s temperature. Figure out why. “I think it’s important to understand where your anger comes from so that you can then address it when you do get triggered,” says Yakubov. Get help. If you think your anger could be related to trauma or if the emotion makes it difficult for you to be who you want to be — with friends, in romantic relationships, as a parent, or at work — reach out to a licensed therapist, says Yakubov. You can find one near you with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s FindTreatment.gov .
When Anger Is Healthy and When It’s Not When It’s Healthy “Anger is like any other emotion — it’s neither healthy nor unhealthy — it just happens,” says Catalano. Whether anger has a positive or negative impact on your health depends more on what happens next. Anger can be healthy when you accept how you feel and use it as a cue to make positive changes, says Yakubov. Irritation during a fight with your partner could inspire you to distribute chores more fairly, while outrage over racism might lead you to attend protests in support of racial justice. If you express anger in a way that hurts yourself, others, or the environment in some way — when you’re aggressive — that’s when anger is unhealthy, says Catalano. Catalano sees unhealthy anger as a kind of suffering, one that seems to be especially pronounced these days. Many people don’t want to see or deal with their anger, she says. But by managing your anger in healthy ways and using it to propel you to find solutions to problems, she says you can help improve yourself and make the world a better place.
Resources We Love: Anger Resources Favorite Anger Podcast Speaking of Psychology: How to Keep Anger From Getting the Best of You, With Howard Kassinove, PhD, and Raymond ’Chip’ Tafrate, PhD The American Psychological Association (APA) is the top professional organization for psychologists, and their episode on anger is a masterclass on the subject. Pop it on while you go for a walk or do chores and hear the latest insights from two top psychologists who’ve spent their careers studying anger. By the end, how you feel will make way more sense and you’ll have ideas on what to do about it. Favorite Anger Support Groups Emotions Anonymous Drawing inspiration from the success of 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Emotions Anonymous (EA) meetings provide peer support plus a proven structure for working with emotional challenges, including problem anger. When you to go the website, you’ll find tons of virtual and in-person meetings to choose from. Favorite Books About Anger Dance of Anger , by Harriet Learner, PhD For a book originally released back in 1985, this bestseller holds up unusually well. Dig in for an accessible, helpful guide to anger in women and how it shows up in intimate relationships written by a clinical psychologist. Anger Management for Everyone: Ten Proven Ways to Control Anger and Live a Happier Life , by Raymond Chip Tafrate and Howard Kassinove We love that this guide was created by two of the top clinical psychologists specializing in anger management today. When you open the book, you’ll see a 10-step process to manage your anger. You’ll find concrete ideas on everything you need to know, from how to address anger triggers to how to express yourself assertively. Favorite Tools to Find a Therapist FindTreatment.gov Let’s be real: Anger can be hard to unpack on your own. Working with a licensed therapist is a proven way to understand anger and make sure the feeling doesn’t impact your life in negative ways. When you go to this website or call the national helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357), you’ll be able to search for a therapist who can help you on your journey. We wish you could search for someone with expertise in anger management specifically, but luckily you can search for providers who use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an evidence-based treatment for anger. Find a Therapist at Psychology Today It couldn’t be easier to use the Find a Therapist tool at Psychology Today, and that’s why it’s one you’ll hear recommended over and over again. Just enter your location (or a therapist’s name) and you’ll quickly get a scrollable feed of licensed therapists in your area. You can see everything you’d want to know right at glance: Their name, photo, type of license, location, whether they work remotely, phone number, email, and a quick intro. If you’d rather not scroll to find your fit, you can use the buttons at the top of the page to filter for your preferences, like the issues you hope to address (anger management is one), type of therapy you want, insurance, therapist gender, and more. If a provider seems like they could be your vibe, just click on their profile to learn all the nitty gritty stuff you’d like to know including fees, specialties, and endorsements. Favorite Tools for DIY Anger Management Assertive Communication Guide Experts sing the praises of being assertive as a swap for any overt- or passive-aggressive tendencies. But anyone who’s tried to adopt an assertive attitude knows it’s actually really tricky to figure out how to communicate well about things that make you angry. Fortunately, assertiveness is a skill you can learn, and this guide from the Mayo Clinic is a fantastic jumping-off point. Clarity — CBT Thought Diary App Cognitive behavior therapy (aka CBT) is an effective treatment for anger. If you want to walk yourself through the process (or supplement professional help), we love this app. It’ll help you understand yourself (and your anger triggers) better. It even has a 21-question anger test you can use to track your progress. Calm App Taking care of your body and mind — with yoga, mindfulness, and meditation — can help anger not get the best of you, Catalano says. Not only does Calm have a treasure trove of mindful movement and guided meditation exercises (including controlled breathing), you’ll find a handful of offerings that specifically target anger.

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