Wrosch warns that, in this form, staying bitter is a health risk leading to “biological dysregulation” and physical disease. One expert has proposed that bitterness be recognized as a mental illness and categorized as post-traumatic embitterment disorder (PTED).
Bitterness is "so common and so deeply destructive," writes Shari Roan at the Los Angeles Times, "that some psychiatrists are urging it be identified as a mental illness under the name post-traumatic embitterment disorder." "The disorder is modeled after post-traumatic stress disorder," she continues, "because it too ...
Feeling bitter is typically a consequence of accumulated anger and sadness as a result of past experiences. Work and personal relationships are often impacted when a person has become bitter. Adopting a new approach to life—taking action—can reduce bitterness and increase one's hope for the future.
Bitterness not only causes symptoms of trauma like sleeplessness, fatigue, and lack of libido. It can also in the long-term lead to low self-confidence, negative personality shifts, and an inability to have a healthy relationship.
Friedrich Nietzsche once noted, “nothing consumes a man more quickly than the emotion of resentment.” So, it should be no surprise that a number of mental disorders stem from these emotions of anger, resentment, hostility, and bitterness.
Sometimes resentment leads to an inability to stop thinking about the event that caused intense emotion. Recurring negative thoughts may take over and linger for long periods of time — sometimes even years. For some people, resentment may cause feelings of disappointment or remorse.
03/6Anger - Liver
The emotion of anger is associated with the choleric humor and can cause resentment and irritability. It is believed that this emotion is stored in the liver and gall bladder, which contain bile. Anger can cause headaches and hypertension which can in turn affect the stomach and the spleen.
The effect on serotonin levels generates an increase of anger, emotional pain, anxiety, and depression. The long-term effects of these triggers are known to many of us. Stress hormones increase our heart rate, blood pressure, arterial tension, blood glucose levels and thyroid function.
The cause of anxiety, depression, and other illnesses may be unresolved bitterness. Sadly, the person who is bitter and resentful is also repelling people at a time when they may need them most. Bitterness may cause isolation. Bitterness sucks energy and finds no peace.
Liver. Digestion and the processing of nutrients are primary functions of this vital organ. 5 In TCM, the liver is associated with anger, depression, and the below physical symptoms: Emotions: Anger, resentment, frustration, irritability, bitterness, and "flying off the handle"
Bitter individuals often operate from a blaming and non-empathic perspective. In their personal and professional relationships, bitter men and women often blame others when things go wrong or when things do not work out as they wanted or expected.
Encourage them to explain why they feel angry, don't interrupt them while they speak, and keep on asking questions until they have fully explained themselves. Try to see things from their perspective as they express their feelings. Use active listening , so that you really listen to what they say.
Whilst it is often attributed to an injustice or to social rejection, it may also be attributed to a traumatic life-changing experience, such as assault, rape or loss of a job, which results in chronic feelings of bitterness and anger.
The Cost of Bitterness
Prolong your mental and emotional pain—and may even exacerbate it. Lead to long-lasting anxiety and/or depression.
A bitter or bad taste in the mouth can occur after eating pungent or sour foods, but it can also stem from hormonal changes, poor oral health, medication use, stress, and many other factors. Taste is a complex sense that can be affected by many factors, including poor dental hygiene, dry mouth, or pregnancy.
To be specific, bitterness is the product of intense animosity, characterized by sarcasm and ill will. Resentment is true displeasure expressed toward someone as the result from a wrong, an insult, or injury; either real, imagined, or unintentional.
The main reason preventing people from letting go, is that anxiety and anger are hardwired into our brains. They describe your sensations generated being in flight (anxiety), or fight (anger).
This usually begins to occur in our 40s if we're female or in our 50s if we're male. At the same time, our remaining taste buds also begin to shrink, or atrophy, and do not function as well. This results in decreased sensitivity to taste, typically affecting salty or sweet, and eventually sour or bitter foods.
Emotional information is stored through “packages” in our organs, tissues, skin, and muscles. These “packages” allow the emotional information to stay in our body parts until we can “release” it. Negative emotions in particular have a long-lasting effect on the body.
Our lower backs store most of our unexpressed anger. Many people develop severe and debilitating pain in the lumbar region of the back. Chronic stress activates the sympathetic nervous system that puts pressure on the spinal cord.
The most common areas we tend to hold stress are in the neck, shoulders, hips, hands and feet. Planning one of your stretch sessions around these areas can help calm your mind and calm your body. When we experience stressful situations whether in a moment or over time, we tend to feel tension in the neck.
A therapist can help you deal with resentment in several ways. Treatment usually includes self-expression, learning, and putting into practice what you've learned. In therapy, you may learn how to stop thinking about a past emotional injury and embrace new methods to guide you to greater happiness.
Resentment and anger in love relationships are unlike the variations of those emotions in other social contexts. Many people are resentful or angry only in love. Only those we love can remind us that we may be unlovable or inadequate as love partners.