In general terms, "anger" is defined as a strong feeling- or reaction of displeasure and antagonism about something. Many a time it is caused by attacks on our self-esteem, personal criticism, insult, unfair treatment and unjustified frustration or disappointment. Sometimes it is a word spoken in innocence, a joke or a playful teasing that ignites it. Nearly 25 years ago, a man of about 50 years old collapsed and died pathetically. What was the cause of his death? He was engaged in a heated argument with another person who had provoked him. The argument became so aggressive that he ignored all attempts by others to calm him down. As the verbal aggression gathered momentum, his lips began trembling and his words dragging as those of a stammerer. Then suddenly he collapsed, became unconscious and later died while being rushed to the hospital. What a tragic result of anger! The other person felt so embarrassed and ashamed that he regretted getting involved in the argument. One encounters various provoking situations in life-at home, at school, at the workplace, in the market, in the street, at the hospital, at supermarkets, in vehicles, etc. Is venting anger good for us physically? Does it benefit us socially? Psychological studies have recently shown that many people who vent their anger later suffer from low self-esteem, depression, guilt complex, escalated hostility and anxiety. Such people have the biggest levels of blood pressure. Reports have it that anger produces cardiac sensations, headaches, nosebleed, dizziness and vocal problems. A medical professor, Garry Schwartz, confirmed that 'effects produced on the heart are more severe and long-lasting than any other feeling’. Anger raises blood pressure, causes respiratory problems and has other bad effects. Rage can upset thinking process resulting in extreme mental depression. These are research findings by Dr. Redford B. Williams, a professor at Duke University Medical Centre in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, medical experts have believed that those who become aggressive are prime targets of heart attacks, and new evidences suggest that anger can be a killer. Having high levels of hostility and anger in dealing with other people is deadly, especially if one is quick to reach the boiling point. Dr. Redford Williams Jr, of Duke University Medical Centre added: "An awful lot of premature mortality may be associated with hostility." Clinical observations prove that the effects of anger confirm the belief that even chronic angry mood can cause miscarriages in pregnant women who are prone to anger since anger changes the chemistry of the human body that fatally affects the fetus. Such uncontrolled anger makes it difficult for one to think or act rationally and cannot wait to find a peaceful means of righting a wrong. It therefore usually makes a bad situation rather worse. This is proven by the recent newspaper reports that children or even spouses are angrily beaten mercilessly to death or are shot just because of losing money or other pardonable offences. All these stem from uncontrolled anger. In social circles, shouting and yelling hardly yield the best results. The one yelled at is usually provoked and makes the attempt to strike back in like manner. Both become verbally or physically violent; scream, hurl stabbing words, hit, damage, and destroy. They say things they don't mean and later shamefully regret. Sometimes though, anger may be justified but care must be taken not to maintain a provoked state. It pays to hold back from careless, unrestrained expression of anger as acting instantly while in that indignant frame of mind might cause great harm. One who does not control his anger can have his mind invaded by improper thoughts that could move him to act wrongly. What about drivers sitting behind their steering wheels? It is common to see them hurling insults at each other in traffic. And the reason? A driver unexpectedly cuts in front of another, another impatiently honks his horn at the other, another drives at snail's pace when the other is in a hurry, or when someone stops abruptly. Granted, these situations spark screaming and yelling in drivers in order to awaken the culprits or bring them to their senses since such unprofessional habits result in mangled limbs, facial contusions, broken and crushed bones and even death. But drivers would do well to avoid creating such near-accident situations so as to save other drivers from getting angry. The tragic incidence cited in the second paragraph shows that expressing or unleashing anger does harm instead of good, because anger, if not controlled, fuels itself and becomes a conflagration that devastates oneself and others. Since anger does not solve problems but escalates them, the wise thing for us to do is to handle situations in a rather calm manner. This will require that we leave the volatile scene or ignore the one provoking us or even forgive him. This harmonises with the wise sayings that "Before the quarrel has burst forth, take your leave." (Proverbs 17:14, NW) "An answer when mild turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up." "An enraged man stirs up contention, but one that is slow to anger quiets down quarrelling." - Proverbs 15:1, 18, NW Source: Daily Graphic