Expression of anger is not healthy

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Managing anger is a better approach than expressing it, according to a leading psychologist in this field.
It is often believed that bottling up anger is bad for your health. Dr Robert Allan of New York Presbyterian Hospital, who has studied anger for three decades, does not agree with this view. In a new book called "Getting Control of your Anger" he explains how anger often runs in families and is linked to fundamental needs for respect and territory. It helps to know what these needs are and to deal with them more directly, rather than simply getting mad and expressing it.

He describes the "hook" for anger - the situations that cause you to get angry and lose your cool. In a recent study, treatment of type A - "angry" - behavior was shown to reduce the rate of second heart attacks by 44 per cent. The participants said that identifying the hook was the most important tool they used. Instead of baiting yourself on the hook and giving in to anger, you need to learn to "swim on by". In the long term, this will be of most benefit to health and it is not the same as bottling up anger.

Source
New York Presbyterian Hospital 9th March 2006

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